Becoming the Enemy
by Eva Bennett
Summary: Aria Potter is a complete secret- even from Harry. Trained since six by Dumbledore, raised by Snape, a member of the Order. She's given the task of watching over Harry during his fifth year. But what happens when love appears in the form of Draco Malfoy?
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue_

Dumbledore's office was still the same as it had always been- walls lined with hundreds of books, metal sculptures of multiple spheres, high ceilings, Fawkes sitting at his perch. Nothing had changed materially, but the feeling itself was different. The feeling was more somber, more serious. Voldemort returning had changed everything, as was to be expected. It seemed so much simpler to just pretend he hadn't returned, which is exactly how the Ministry of Magic and general public appeared to have opted to handle the situation. But the evidence was becoming harder to ignore. People were disappearing at a daily rate, wizards and muggles alike. Soon it would be impossible for Cornelius Fudge or anyone else to overlook the mounding proof of Voldemort's return. Aria knew that was why Dumbledore had asked her to come to his office today. She stood with her back to Dumbledore, instead surveying his books, waiting for him to speak.

"You know, your interest in knowledge has always been astounding." Dumbledore said finally. "I've seen few students here at Hogwarts who could rival it."

Aria turned to Dumbledore. "Well, growing up under the care of Hogwarts professors probably had a great effect on that." She said.

"I wouldn't say a great effect," Dumbledore said. "An aptitude for learning isn't so much a learned trait as a natural one."

Aria shrugged. "Believe what you will. I'm still resting the fault in you and Severus."

"Ah, yes, Severus." Dumbledore said. "I think it was good for you, growing up under his care. You two are an interesting match for each other. Not a likely match, mind, but interesting none the less. It is a shame it is no longer safe for you to remain under his care."

"He taught me a lot, though I think he had a lot of difficulty acting as a father figure. Sometimes I don't understand why my mother wanted him to look after me." Aria said.

"Severus and your mother were great friends at one point." Dumbledore said. "They had difficulties, but I think that in the end your mother believed that he would do what it took to keep you safe. And he's done well thus far, wouldn't you agree?"

Aria nodded. "Yes, he has. Professor… is this why you asked me to come? To talk about Severus?"

Dumbledore stood up from his desk, and walked around over to Aria. "No. I asked you to come here today to talk about something else entirely."

Aria turned back to the wall of books, waiting for him to continue. She never liked these talks. Normally they had to do with the Order of the Phoenix and ended with her having to do some dangerous task, possibly life-threatening, to help the cause. Aria loved working with the Order, but sometimes she felt the Dumbledore asked for too much, needed too much from her. She was only fourteen, after all, though it never seemed like it. Her age didn't really seem to matter in these troubled times. Dumbledore had been training her in combat since she was six, teaching her magic far beyond the school level. By now Aria was capable of producing extraordinary magic, dueling even the darkest of Death Eaters, and Apparating even under an anti-Apparation charm. She was also quite talented at brewing potions, having grown up under the care of the Hogwarts potions teacher, Severus Snape. He had basically raised her, while keeping her entire existence a secret. None but a select few, mostly the members of the Order, knew of Aria. It wasn't her preferred way of living, but there was no alternative, not being who she was.

"Aria, with Voldemort having returned, there are a lot of things that need to be put into consideration," Dumbledore said, "Including the connection between Voldemort and Harry's mind, and my proximity to Harry."

"What are you saying, Professor?" Aria asked, without turning around.

"There is a connection between his and Voldemort's mind. Voldemort may try to exploit that connection, which is a dangerous possibility. It would not be wise for me to spend much time with Harry. But he needs an eye kept on him." Dumbledore said.

"I'm not following, Professor." Aria said.

"Again I must ask too much of you. Aria, this year you're going to attend Hogwarts as a student." Dumbledore said.

Aria spun around to face him. "I'm going to what? Professor, don't you think that's a little dangerous?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. It is. But it's necessary. I need you to keep a watch on Harry for me."

"From afar, I presume." Aria said quickly.

Dumbledore nodded again. "I'm sorry, Aria, but yes. From afar. Harry cannot know of you quite yet."

"When are you going to tell him, Professor? He deserves to know he has a sister." Aria said.

"He does. But it must be revealed to him at the right time, Aria, you understand this." Dumbledore said.

Aria sighed, looking down. "I know, I know. So what house am I going to be placed in? Assuming Gryffindor is off the list."

"Slytherin, under the watch of Severus." Dumbledore said.

"Slytherin? Where all the dark witches and wizards have come from?" Aria said.

"Slytherin is a respectable House, as are all the Houses at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said. "What the students of a particular House decide to do with their lives after they leave should not reflect upon the House itself."

Aria nodded. "Of course, Professor."

"You will be entering as a fifth year student." Dumbledore said. "Aria… it is crucial that while you are here, you maintain a low profile. You are far more advanced than the students here, and while excelling at your subjects is admirable, it would be advisable to not make a spectacle or show off of yourself."

Aria raised her eyebrow. "Professor, when have I been known to make a spectacle of myself?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Probably a needless warning." He returned to sit behind his desk. "Now I have here a list of all the things you will need. Remus will take you to Diagon Alley to get your requirements for school."

Aria took the list, and after a little more discussion about the upcoming year, left Dumbledore's office. She walked down to the Great Hall for a moment and stood, taking in its vast emptiness. Within a months time she would be sitting among the students here, a dream she never thought she would achieve. But Aria knew that while she was here, she would be in danger. The risk of someone, especially Harry himself, finding out she was Harry Potter's sister was great, and with Voldemort having returned, had dire consequences. Aria was determined to keep up her façade beautifully, no matter who or what tried to break it.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter One_

Aria sat at the end of the Slytherin House table, clad in her brand new Slytherin themed Hogwarts robes. In order to appear more like a student, Dumbledore had insisted she take the Hogwarts Express to get to the school, rather than just Apparating like she would under normal circumstances. It had been fairly dull, as Aria had found a nearly empty compartment and read the whole way. She was quite thankful when the train finally pulled in, and she could stretch her legs and get something to eat at the feast. The feast was supposed to welcome the students to the new school year, and while the food was good, Aria felt the opposite of welcomed. Aria had spotted Harry as soon as he had walked in the Great Hall, but she pretended to take no notice. As badly as she wanted to talk to him, she knew she must show restraint against it. Harry knowing of her was unsafe, and it was her only goal to make sure he was safe. Harry had been surrounded by a group of friends. Aria, however, sat alone at the back end of the Slytherin table, close to the door. Aria knew she didn't belong with the other students; she just had to act like she did.

Suddenly she heard the sound of others sitting down opposite of her. She looked up to see a curly headed boy, a blonde boy, and a fat boy on the other side of the table. The blonde boy sat in the middle, and Aria could already tell he was the leader and considered himself higher than the other two. As they sat down, Aria noticed Harry staring at her with a puzzled look. He, like everyone else, was probably wondering who the new girl was. A voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy. And you are?" The blonde boy said, extending his hand.

Aria shook it. "Aria Everheart." Because she couldn't use her real name, Potter, Dumbledore had instructed her to go by Everheart. He said it was a pureblood name, but not one of too notable importance, and would be safe to use.

Draco nodded. "This is Crabbe, and that's Goyle. You're obviously not a first year. So why haven't I seen you before?"

"I went to a different school." Aria said, having memorized this line. "My father made me transfer here this year."

"What year are you?" Draco asked.

"Fifth year." Aria said shortly.

"You're in my year. I expect we'll have classes together then." Draco said, giving her a sly half smile. No doubt he had practiced it well. Aria wasn't fazed.

"Probably." She said, disinterested, and helped herself to more food.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aria saw Draco's brow furrow. Undoubtedly he was unused to disinterest directed at him. He ate a little while staring at his plate and ignoring Crabbe and Goyle's attempts at small talk. Aria decided to throw him a bone.

"Could you show me where the Slytherin common room and dormitories are?" She asked.

Draco looked up. "Course. Maybe if you're lucky, I'll even show you where class is tomorrow."

Aria almost felt bad for him and his conceitedness. She nodded. "Thanks."

Aria turned her head at the sound of Dumbledore's voice. He was giving the start-of-term notices, as he called them. Aria was just glad for a break from chatting with Malfoy, as lovely as it was. She half listened to Dumbledore, while noticing that Draco was glancing at her every so often. She didn't understand why he decided to come seek her out; with his dominant personality, she assumed he would be the kind of boy who waited for the girls to come to him. Aria wondered if Malfoy would become a problem; not that she was interested, but that he might not take no for an answer if the time came. Distractions were not what she came to Hogwarts for.

Aria was startled out of her thought by the sound of a slightly feminine voice coughing in the most annoying way. She looked to the front to see a small, toad like woman wearing atrocious pink clothing, who was previously seated at the professors table, was making her way to the front of the room. Aria vaguely recalled Dumbledore saying her name Umbridge, or something similar, though she couldn't fathom why Dumbledore would hire the woman. As she progressed closer to Dumbledore, it became clear she intended to make a speech.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Aria saw the students exchange smirks and glances. All of them were probably laughing in their minds at her high pitched screech of a voice and fluffy pink cardigan. Harry, in particular, had a face of loathing. Umbridge appeared to be unfazed.

"Well it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!" She said with a grin that looked almost sinister. "And to see such happy little faces looking back at me!"

Aria took a moment to look around again. None of the faces she saw appeared to be particularly happy.

Umbridge went on with her speech, and Aria listened carefully. Umbridge droned on and on about the importance of proper education to the Ministry of Magic, and progress for the sake of progress. The students stopped listening, because to them all of Umbridge's words meant nothing. But to Aria, they meant a great deal. Umbridge was from the Ministry, who were calling Dumbledore and Harry frauds and liars. It seemed, given the circumstances, the Ministry had decided to intervene at Hogwarts. Aria knew that couldn't lead to anything remotely positive.

"Everheart, do you want to know where the Common Room is or not?" Malfoy said, breaking Aria from her thoughts. The students were filing towards the door, and Malfoy was waiting, slightly impatient, for Aria.

Aria nodded, standing up. "Yeah. I'm coming."

Draco and Aria made their way out of the Great Hall among the other students. He was just about to speak when a shrill voice cut him off.

"Draco!" A girl said, standing behind them and tapping her foot.

"Pansy." Draco said as he turned around, coldness edging into his voice.

"You're a prefect. We're supposed to help the first years find the Common Room." Pansy said harshly.

"I am. It's Everheart's first year here. I'm showing her where to go." Draco said. "_You_ can deal with that lot." He finished, glancing at the Slytherin first years.

"Draco!" Pansy yelled. "Don't you leave me with them!"

Without even responding, Draco grabbed Aria's arm and walked off, pulling her with him. She stumbled for a second before catching his pace and taking her arm away from him.

"Who was that loveliness?" Aria asked, sarcasm obvious in her tone.

"Pansy Parkinson." Draco answered.

"Is she always like that?" Aria asked.

"Unfortunately." Draco said, and Aria could tell by her tone that he only just put up with her.

"Where are we going?" Aria asked, deciding now was a wise time for a change of subject.

"The dungeons." Draco answered.

"The dungeons. Your Common Room is in the dungeons." Aria said, making a face. "How… quaint."

Aria followed Draco to the door, and told her the password, which unsurprisingly had to do with purebloods. The Common Room itself was very cold and unwelcoming, which Aria felt was only fitting. Draco pointed to the girls dormitories, and Aria quickly excused herself to them. Walking in, she quickly spotted her trunk at the foot of the last bed next to the wall and went to it. The beds were fitted with black sheets and comforters with green and silver lines running along the edge. Aria smirked and grabbed clothes to sleep in. She went to the girl's washroom and changed, ignoring the glares from the other girls who were clearly wondering who the new intruder was. Aria quickly washed her face and tied her hair back, figuring she'd clean up more when there were less gawkers present.

After setting out her robes for the next day, Aria decided to go down to the Common Room to read. The rest of the Slytherins had also changed into their pajamas, and seemed to be catching up with one another. Aria spotted a chair by the window where no one was, and went to sit in it. She noticed the girl Malfoy had ditched, Pansy Parkinson, seem to be glaring at her in a more hostile way than the other girls. Aria chuckled to herself, and sat down in her chair to read. Just as she was becoming well engrossed in her reading, a familiar voice broke her silence.

"Enjoying yourself?" Draco said, almost snidely.

"I was." Aria said, marking her page and snapping her book closed.

"So do you prefer being antisocial?" Draco asked, glancing at her book then back at her.

"I don't view being literarily appreciative as being antisocial." Aria retorted. "And if you haven't noticed, it's not like I know anyone in here."

"You know me, and that's all that matters." Draco smirked. "Are you sure you're meant to be in Slytherin? As a true Slytherin, I feel like you'd be more suited for Ravenclaw, where the 'literarily appreciative' belong."

"Well then, I suppose it's a good thing I'm not concerned with a 'true Slytherin's' approval." Aria shot back.

Draco's face darkened a tad. "Maybe you should be."

"And why is that?" Aria asked.

"You will get no where, be no one, in Slytherin if I decide to make it that way." Draco said, almost threateningly.

"I'm not too concerned with being someone, so that's alright with me." Aria said. She glanced over at Pansy, who was glowering at the two of them. "Anyways, shouldn't you get back to little miss sunshine over there?"

Draco shot a glance at Pansy. "Please. I'd rather talk to a Gryffindor."

Aria scoffed. "No you wouldn't."

Draco thought for a moment. "You're right, I wouldn't."

"Why are you over here anyways?" Aria asked.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked back.

"I mean, why are you talking to me when you having your adoring Slytherins to attend to?" Aria said.

Draco gave her a look. "I take it as a personal challenge to make the others adore me."

Aria raised her eyebrows. "Congratulations, I guess? Seems you've done well."

"Yes, I have. But now I have a new challenge." Draco said, giving Aria a once over.

Aria shook her head. "Oh, no. No, no. Let me clear something up for you, Malfoy. I don't 'adore' anyone. I'm not about to change that for you."

"We'll see about that." Draco said, sitting back with a smirk.

Aria glared at him. "Yes. You will."

Without another word, Aria stood and walked up to the girl's dormitory. She settled down on her bed there to read, ignoring the looks and whispers from the other curious, distrusting girls. She didn't care what the girls thought; she wasn't here to make friends. She was here for Harry, and only Harry. Malfoy… Malfoy, on the other hand, was already proving to be a problem. Though she could not stand his vile attitude, Aria constantly found her mind drifting off to him. She finally decided to sleep, figuring classes in the morning would put her thoughts in the right place.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Two_

Aria woke early the next morning so she could have the washroom to herself. She quickly showered, brushed her teeth, and got dressed in the Hogwarts uniform of gray pants and a white button down shirt. She had already dried her straight, reddish brown hair and was fixing her black tie with silver and green accents when other girls started entering the washroom, rubbing sleep out of their eyes. Aria finished fixing tie and left, growing accustomed to the whispers that followed her. She returned to her bed just long enough to put her pajamas away and grab her schoolbag. Then, putting on her charcoal sweater as she went, Aria made her way through the Common Room and out the door, heading for the Great Hall for breakfast.

When she reached the Great Hall, it was almost empty. Only the early risers like herself and some of the professors were seated at the table. Aria took a seat at the end of Slytherin table, the same spot she had sat in the night before. She helped herself to some bacon and eggs, half-heartedly looking around at her peers. She glanced up at Dumbledore, and thought she saw him give her a small smile. Of course, with Dumbledore, one could never be sure.

"Miss Everheart." A low, sharp voice slowly said behind her.

Aria turned around to see Severus Snape standing behind her. "Professor." She said.

"I see you woke quite early." He said. "As is your nature."

"Yes, Professor. You know I've always been a morning person." Aria said.

Snape nodded. "Yes, you have. Miss Everheart, if you would, please come by my office tonight. 7'o'clock will do. I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you. And here is your class schedule."

Aria nodded, taking the schedule from Snape. "Certainly, Professor."

Snape gave a final curt nod and proceeded up to the front of the Great Hall, taking his seat with the other professors. Despite Snape having been the only father figure Aria ever had, Dumbledore felt it was appropriate for them to maintain a distant relationship while she was at Hogwarts- or at least make it look that way. The cold demeanor Snape took with students was not one Aria was accustomed to with him, and it left her slightly unsettled. She turned back to her breakfast, watching the students file in to the Hall. Aria watched as Harry entered. He was accompanied by a girl with wavy hair and a ginger. She figured these were his two best friends that Dumbledore often spoke of. They took a seat at the Gryffindor table, talking amongst themselves. Aria looked away, not wanting to be caught paying too much attention to Harry.

As she was finishing her breakfast, Draco and his followers came into the Great Hall. He spotted her and raised his eyebrows quickly at her. Aria figured this was supposed to be alluring, but she was rather put off by it. To her fortune, Draco sat towards the middle of the table to eat, and Aria was left to her own devices. The owls came, bringing the mail, and one flew by Aria to drop off her copy of the Daily Prophet. She looked past the stories claiming Harry and Dumbledore to be "Daft? Or Dangerous?" and made her way to the middle of the paper. A story on Muggle Murders caught her eye, which the Ministry claimed to be the work of "notorious mass murder, Sirius Black." This was untrue, of course, Sirius was at Grimmauld Place working with the Order. He knew of Aria's existence, as did the rest of the Order members, but they had all sworn to Dumbledore not to breathe a word of her to Harry.

When the bell rang for class, Aria looked at her schedule to see she had a fairly dull day ahead of her. She made her way to the History of Magic classroom, found a seat near the back, and proceeded to catch up on her reading while Professor Binns, who happened to both be a ghost and possibly the most boring being Aria had ever met, lectured on about content she was already familiar with. All the other students save a few used the time to get caught up on their sleep. When about twenty minutes had passed, Aria looked up from her reading to notice Harry was in her class. Though she had already known she would be sharing most of her classes with him, it pained her just slightly to be so close to him, yet unable to speak to him. Aria went back to reading for the remainder of the lesson.

After the slowest hour of her life came to a blessed end, Aria made her way to the dungeon for a double Potions lesson. As she walked in, Snape gave her a quick hello and pointed her to a seat near a cauldron before leaving the classroom. She sat down, and watched the rest of the class file in. Again she noticed Harry, who sat as far into the back as possible. Aria assumed he and Snape did not get on well. Then, much to her displeasure, she saw Malfoy and his usual company enter the classroom. He didn't notice her, taking a seat in the second row of the class. Aria flipped through her potions book while she waited for class to begin, finding nothing too challenging or particularly difficult.

Silence fell over the room as Snape entered to begin the class, which Aria found almost comical. He proceeded to talk about the O.W.L. examinations all the fifth year students would be taking in June, something Aria was not at all worried about. Some of the students seemed frightened of Snape, a fact that amused her greatly. Aria didn't find Snape remotely scary or threatening. Of course, he hadn't practically raised any of the other students in the class. He announced that they would be making the Draught of Peace, something Aria could do with little difficulty, though it was a finicky potion. She gathered her ingredients and proceeded to make the potion almost by memory. The girl that Harry was friends with who had the wavy hair was watching her make the potion in a way Aria almost thought was jealous. She seemed to be having some dilemma over her cauldron, though Aria could tell by the silver vapor rising from the surface that she had done just fine with it. Snape walked by her without comment, but stopped by Harry's cauldron to criticize. He seemed to get joy out of embarrassing Harry, and Aria looked over to see Malfoy smiling and laughing quietly at Harry. It was obvious Harry wasn't popular among the Slytherin group. At the end of the class, she turned in her flagon of potion for testing, and copied down the homework without question.

After Potions she had Divination, which was unmemorable at best. The professor seemed at bit off the rocks as far as mentality went. Aria rolled her eyes as she left the lesson, heading for her final lesson of the day, a double Defense Against the Dark Arts. She sat down in a desk third row over and second seat from the front, hoping not to have anyone too annoying be her desk partner. Aria was hoping this would be a class where she could practice her skills, as she was well trained at defensive spells. She knew Harry, and most likely Malfoy, would be in this class with her, and she hoped Malfoy would just take the hint she gave him last night and continue to leave her alone.

However, it quickly became obvious to Aria that she was not going to have such luck. She heard someone sit down on the bench next to her and looked over to see the back of a white blonde head. It appeared Malfoy didn't take hints.

"What do you think you're doing?" Aria asked him.

Draco turned to look at her. "I'm sitting, Everheart, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"There are at least ten empty seats in this room, Draco. Go find one of them." Aria said.

"Oh, I did. This one." Draco said with a smirk.

"Well, pick again, because that one's taken." Aria replied, annoyed.

"Oh really? By who, exactly?" Draco asked, faking surprise.

"I don't know yet, but preferably anyone but you." Aria said.

Draco smirked again. "You should just be happy that someone wants to sit with you. You know, there are plenty of girls who would love to sit with me. Kill for it."

"I think I'd rather sit alone, so why don't you go find one of those girls and make it her lucky day?" Aria retorted quickly. Then with more thought, she asked, "Why do you want to sit with me, anyway?" Draco didn't respond, so Aria continued. "You don't seem like the kind of guy who chases a girl. So why are you spending time on someone who clearly isn't interested?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Everheart. It's like I said last night. You will be." Draco said conceitedly.

Aria rolled her eyes and looked around. She saw Harry turn his head away from her direction and begin speaking to the ginger beside him, glancing at her occasionally. He had probably overheard hers and Malfoy's conversation and was now discussing it, which just made everything that much better.

"_Hem, hem._"

Aria and the rest of the class turned their attention to the back of the room, where the short, toad-like woman, who had made the speech at the welcoming feast, was now standing. The woman was dressed head to toe in pink. Apparently, she was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, although there wasn't a fathomable reason why. Aria had the sneaking suspicion she wasn't going to be able to practice her defensive skills in this class. Professor Umbridge waved her wand at the board in the front, where words began appearing, and began to walk towards the front of the room.

"Good afternoon, class!" She said, to which she earned little to no response. "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge.' One more time, please. Good afternoon class!"

Aria and the rest of the class reluctantly chanted "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge."

"There, now," said Professor Umbridge, in a fake sweet tone. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Confused and dismayed, Aria stowed her wand in her bag and pulled out her favorite black quill, along with ink and parchment. She was sure this was to prove to be an underwhelming lesson. Reading the words on the board confirmed her suspicions. It said 'Defense Against the Dark Arts- A Return to Basic Principles.' Anything with basic principles involved was sure to be dull and unexciting.

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hand clasped neatly in front of her.

She continued to talk about how the students had never received a "Ministry approved" curriculum, and were apparently not prepared for their O.W.L.s. She tapped the board with her wand, and instructed the class to copy down the course aims that appeared. Aria did, thoroughly disappointed by them. She then instructed the class to pull out their books and read chapter one "Basics for Beginners." Umbridge made the point to add that there would be "no need to talk."

Aria began to skim through the reading, knowing she was far beyond the beginner level, and not really caring to go back to its basic principles. After a minute or two, she noticed the wavy haired girl Harry was friends with had her hand raised. Umbridge decided it was best to ignore her until every student was looking at her, and then finally asked what it was she needed.

The girl was quite blunt. "There's nothing written in your course aims about _using _defensive spells." She said.

"Why on earth would you need to use defensive spells, my dear? Are you planning on being attacked in my classroom?" Professor Umbridge said.

"We're not going to use magic?" The ginger exclaimed.

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through you examination, which, after all, is what school is all about." Umbridge said. "In this course, you'll be learning about defensive spells in a risk-free way."

"Professor, if we're going to need defensive spells, it won't be risk free." Harry said angrily.

"Students will raise their hands in my classroom." Professor Umbridge stated forcefully. "As long as you have studied the theory hard enough-"

"And what good is theory in the real world?" Harry replied, even angrier.

"This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world." Umbridge said, matter-of-factly.

"So how are we supposed to be prepared for what's out there?" Harry asked quickly.

"There is _nothing _out there, Mr. Potter. Who can you imagine that would want to attack children?" Professor Umbridge asked.

"Oh, I dunno, maybe, Lord Voldemort?" Harry responded quickly.

Aria looked back at him. She agreed with him whole-heartedly, but he was going too far. Umbridge's glare looked almost as if it could peel paint off a wall.

"Now, let me make a few things quite plain." Umbridge said slowly. "You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned and is at large. _This is a lie._"

"It is NOT a lie! I saw him, I fought him!" Harry said.

"Detention, Mr. Potter!" Umbridge yelled, walking closer to the students.

"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" Harry asked, his voice trembling.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident" Umbridge said coldly.

"It was murder" Harry said. "Voldemort killed him, you must know this!"

"Enough!" shouted Umbridge.

The class was silent. Aria stared at Harry, who was visibly shaking from anger. She turned back to her book, beginning to read again out of desperation for something to do. She glanced at Malfoy to see the smirk had been wiped off his face. Aria couldn't tell if it was by Umbridge's anger or Harry's mention of Voldemort. Either way, the class slowly began to read again, and not a whisper was heard until the bell rang at the end of the lesson. Aria gathered her things and quickly walked out, not even minding Malfoy's company. She was just glad to be out of the tension filled room. This year at Hogwarts was going to be a lot more difficult than she had anticipated.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Three_

That evening, at seven on the dot, Aria entered the office of Severus Snape. It, like all rooms Slytherin, was located in the dungeons. The room was quite cold, despite a small fire having been conjured in the fireplaces. Various potion bottles and ingredients filled the shelves all around the walls. Candles were floating around the room gave the room a slight glow, with the help of one dim lamp on the table.

Snape was in a black leather chair next to a table in the middle of the room. He was sitting straight as rod with his arms folded in front of him. "Good evening. Shut the door behind you." He instructed.

Aria shut it, and turned around. "Good evening, Professor."

"Aria, we are in confidence. You may call me Severus." Snape said.

"Right, sorry." Aria said, going to sit down in the empty chair opposite Snape. "I'm still in the student mindset."

Snape nodded. "I see."

Aria paused for a moment. It felt awkward and off with Snape, she wasn't at ease like normal. The man had practically been her father, and yet they were having trouble starting a simple conversation. "So, what did you need to discuss with me?"

"How are your classes going?" Snape asked.

"Erm… they're going well. Not really challenging, as to be expected, but they're…" Aria thought back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. "They're decent."

Snape nodded. "It is unsurprising, of course, that you aren't challenged. You're far beyond the level of most of the students here. Most of them are incompetent and the bright ones often turn out to be insufferable know-it-alls."

Aria half grinned. She always found Snape's views of the students amusing. "The ones I've met aren't too bad. Except one. He's… well, he's a right git most of the time."

Aria saw Snape's eyes flash. "I assume you mean Draco Malfoy?"

Aria paused, blinked, and nodded. "Yes. But how did you-?"

Snape cut her off. "I saw him talking to you at the welcoming feast. Aria, do not even _think _about it. Concealing who you are is a dangerous game. Do not put yourself in more danger by becoming close with Luscious Malfoy's son. Nothing, I repeat, _nothing _good can come of you and Death Eater's son together."

Aria was slightly shocked. "His father's a Death Eater?"

"Not only that, he is favored by the Dark Lord. You cannot just get close to any Slytherin who speaks to you, Aria. You have to remember, they are your enemies." Snape snapped.

"And you're their Head of House. Does that make you my enemy as well?" Aria snapped back. "I don't even _like _Draco Malfoy, I just can't get the prat to leave me alone."

Snape sat back. "Aria, you're just a child. You need to make wiser decisions."

Aria looked at Snape, searching his face for some kind of reason as to why he was acting so harshly with her. It would be a lie to say he had a warm and loving nature, but Snape always seemed to soften his demeanor around Aria. She didn't understand why he was so angry. Aria watched as Snape stood and began pacing his office slowly.

"Do you not want me to be a student here or something?" Aria asked. "Is that what's the matter?"

Aria saw Snape's eyes flash. "No, Aria. I don't particularly want you to be a student here."

"Why?" Aria asked.

Snape pressed his lips together tightly before speaking. "Because you're being put in unnecessary danger." He turned his back to her. "Dumbledore is putting you in danger. For Potter."

"He's my brother." Aria said.

Snape whirled around, his voice angry. "Do you understand what the Dark Lord will do to you if he ever gets _wind_ of your existence?" Snape advanced closer, almost menacingly. "He will hunt you. He will find you. He will use you. He will torture you. And he will _kill_ you."

Aria swallowed hard. She was frightened of Snape. It had never happened before. Sometimes she forgot that before changing his allegiance, Snape himself was a Death Eater. "I'm sorry. I know, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be stupid." She looked down at the floor.

A calm look came over Snape's face. "You're not stupid. You're young… Aria. Look at me." He commanded. Aria looked up, and Snape paused, staring at her. "You look so like your mother."

Aria pressed her lips together and wiped her eye with her sweater sleeve. She _never _cried, and she was ashamed that this tear had betrayed her. Snape saw her wipe it away, and Aria saw his face soften. He sat down in the seat opposite her. He spoke with difficulty, which he always did when he had to act fatherly.

"I'm… worried for you, Aria." Snape said finally. "Your mother… she wanted me to… to protect you."

Aria gave him a reassuring look. "Severus, you do. I know my mother wanted you to keep me safe, and you've done well. I'll be okay here. You taught me well."

Snape's face turned into a sort of grimace, which Aria knew was him trying to be fatherly. "You're a smart girl. You're like your mother. Like… Lily." He said with hardship.

They talked a little longer until Aria had to excuse herself and go do homework. She took the short walk back to the Slytherin Common Room, said the password, and entered. A few students looked up as she walked in. A few girls whispered. There were no reactions to her presence that Aria didn't particularly expect. She went upstairs to her trunk and found jeans and a sweater to wear instead of her uniform. She changed in the empty dormitory and went back to the Common Room to work on her assignments. Finding the same chair she sat in the previous night was empty, she sat in it and got to work.

A potions essay and "Basics for Beginners" chapter later, Aria looked up to notice the Common Room was empty. She checked the time and realized it was midnight. The other students must have gone to bed while she was working. Aria began to gather her things and was putting her potions book away when the Common Room door opened. She looked up to see Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson enter from Prefect duties. They didn't notice her, as they were involved in some kind of quarrel.

"What do you think you're doing, showing her around, sitting with her in class?" Pansy was screeching. "You don't even know who she is. She wasn't here last year. What if she was some kind of… spy or, or agent or something?"

Draco looked thoroughly annoyed. "Do you even understand how ridiculous you sound?" He said.

Pansy stamped her foot, obviously a habit of hers. "Are you even _listening_ to me?"

"Not really, no." Draco said. "I'm a big boy, Pansy. I'll take care of myself. Now, I'm tired of this. Just leave me alone."

Pansy glowered at him for a moment. Then, with a melodramatic _humph, _she turned on her heel and stormed up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Malfoy sighed and rubbed his temples with his fingers, indicating that Screech had given him a headache. Aria decided to announce her presence by clearing her throat. At the sound, Malfoy jumped and looked over with a slight scowl. Aria swore she saw it soften when he looked at her.

"Everheart. How long have you been in here?" Draco asked.

"Before you got here." Aria answered, going back to packing up her schoolbag. "Doing homework."

"Being 'literarily appreciative?'" Draco asked sarcastically.

"I don't think a potions essay and the drivel Umbridge has us reading can be considered literature." Aria replied.

Draco half nodded. "You have a point. How much of that argument did you hear?"

"All of it that occurred in this room?" Aria answered truthfully.

Draco closed his eyes in exasperation. "Wonderful."

Aria sat down in her chair. "Why does Screech have it out for me? It's not like she's actually talked to me."

Draco paused, then walked over and sat in the chair opposite Aria. "She has a fancy for me. Always has. Any girl I talk to becomes a target for her loathing."

"Would that be the girl who would kill to sit by you in class?" Aria asked, a bit snidely.

Draco grimaced. "One of, unfortunately. I'd be fine without her admiration. Happy, actually."

"I don't understand how anyone can get past her voice." Aria said.

"They can't." Draco responded quickly.

"It's pure screech." Aria commented.

"Oh I know. It's unbearable. I hate it when she talks. Her whining is worse, though, so I put up with it." Draco said.

Aria made a face. "I can imagine. Does she whine a lot?"

Draco nodded once. "Constantly."

"Just gets better and better, that one, doesn't she?" Aria said sarcastically. "Why does she think I'm an agent-slash-spy?"

"No idea." Draco said, shrugging. "She's completely off it."

"I can tell." Aria said. "I feel bad for you, having Prefect duty with her."

"You should, it's horrible." Draco replied.

"Sounds it."

They both sat in silence for a moment. Aria looked around the room, then out the window, not sure of what to say. Draco just stared at the floor, sometimes looking up at Aria. They both were waiting for the other to speak, both not knowing what to say themselves. Snape's words rang clear in her mind. _"Nothing good can come of you and Death Eater's son together."_ Finally, Aria stood.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." She said.

Draco looked up at her. "Yeah, me too."

He stood, and suddenly the foot and a half of space between them became a few inches. Aria tilted her head up to look at his face. Draco looked down at her and met her eyes. For a moment they stared at each other, neither moving. The pressure of the silence became unbearable. Draco began to move his arm upwards, as if towards Aria's face. She quickly broke the stare and moved around him. Aria walked toward the dormitory, knowing Draco was looking after her. As she reached the door, she paused. Then, without saying goodnight, she pulled open the door and went inside.

After she had washed her face, changed and climbed into bed, Aria lay staring at the canopy above her. She had had a conversation with Draco Malfoy that _hadn't _involved insults… directed at each other, anyways. Aria didn't understand what she was thinking. She knew better. Malfoy was bad news, and it would be dangerous for Aria to be friends with him, much less anything else. She needed to clear her head and focus. But as she drifted off to sleep, Draco slipped through the walls of her mind. And so, for the second night in a row, Aria fell asleep thinking about Draco Malfoy.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Four_

The next few weeks were dull and unchanging. Aria did her best to avoid Draco, heeding Snape's warning. It made life difficult, to say the least. Hiding out in the library, going straight to bed rather than the Common Room; it was all rather annoying. But Aria knew Snape was right. Malfoy's father was a Death Eater, and that made him her enemy. She focused on keeping a good eye on Harry from afar. He seemed to be rather bright. Most of the teachers, aside from a few, seemed to like him alright. She wished she could get to know him to see if her observations were true.

Her classes weren't improving much either. Care of Magical Creatures was full of girls exclaiming over how pretty the animals are, Malfoy's imitations of Harry, Pansy's laughter that was reminiscent of a mandrake's scream, and Aria wishing she could sink into the potting soil. Quidditch teams began trying out, which Aria had no interest in. Defense Against the Dark Arts consisted of copying the text four times for "maximum retention," having "no need to talk" and avoiding Malfoy's and Pansy's gaze. A History of Magic and Divination were complete wastes of Aria's time. Transfiguration was alright, but dull. Potions was the only class she looked forward to. Brewing potions always put her at ease- typical for someone who had grown up with Snape. It satisfied her to get top marks on all her potions.

However, she was not satisfied for long. Aria grew tired of hiding out in the library to avoid Malfoy. She grew tired of watching Harry. She grew tired of copying basic defensive principles. She grew tired of keeping a cold distance between her and Snape. She grew tired of being alone. She grew tired of everything.

The weather outside had become cooler, edging closer toward the transition from autumn to winter. It was the middle of October now, and Aria was just thankful it was a Saturday. She woke early, as usual, and washed and changed before the other girls awoke. Pulling on jeans, a sweater and sneakers she quietly left the washroom, stowed her sleep clothes in her trunk, grabbed a jacket and her wand, and left the room. Aria briskly walked to the Great Hall and grabbed some breakfast before the majority of the students arrived.

After she ate, Aria proceeded out to the grounds. She walked down to her favorite spot of the castle, the boathouse by the lake. It was made of a lot of crystal glass, and Aria often came here to think. She wasn't sure if it was exactly permitted for students to be there, but she didn't really care either. Aria sat against the wall next to the lake, drawing her knees to her chest. Holding her wand in her hand, she began to perform nonverbal spells. Aria made birds appear, made the water churn, whatever her mind felt like. She loved magic. She was quite good at it. Dumbledore had taught her amazing skills, she could control magic far beyond her age. He said she was powerful. She just thought he was a good teacher.

Suddenly the sound of voices and footsteps interrupted her thoughts. Aria looked up to see the shadows of two figures coming towards the boathouse. She got up and quickly hid herself behind the boats. Remaining deathly silent, she had no choice but to listen to the conversation. Aria tried to recognize the voices, and was surprised when she knew both of them quite well.

"Severus, you cannot lose your head."

"My head is quite clear, Albus. I just worry for someone's safety besides the boy."

"Aria? She is supposed to protect the boy. She has been trained for this. She is prepared." Dumbledore said.

"She is in danger." Snape said severely.

"We all are, Severus. We also all have a purpose. Aria is currently serving hers." Dumbledore said. "You must have faith in her."

"It isn't Aria I don't have faith in." Snape spat. "It is everyone around her. It is the Death Eaters. It is the Dark Lord. If they ever know of her… Albus, you know what they will do to her."

"Yes, I do. That is why her secret must only be revealed at the opportune moment." Dumbledore said calmly.

"And when is that moment, Albus? When the boy needs a distraction on his quest to defeat the Dark Lord? When it is most useful to him?" Snape sounded furious.

Aria cowered behind the boats, listening to their conversation. She didn't like the way she was being talked about, as if she were only a pawn in Harry's personal game. Snape seemed overly concerned with her personal safety- then, of course, he was the one playing spy with the Death Eaters. He knew their true nature better than anyone. Dumbledore, on the other hand, seemed overwhelmingly unconcerned about her safety, which puzzled Aria. Dumbledore was great. Dumbledore was wise. Surely, Dumbledore would not just use her as bait in the quest to kill Voldemort.

"Aria knows the magic she knows so that she can defend herself in any situation, even against Voldemort." Dumbledore said.

"I'm supposed to protect her!" Snape fiercely said.

Dumbledore paused. "Severus, do not lose yourself. You cannot become so attached to her. Aria is not yours."

"Her mother left her with me." Snape said, and there was a cold dominance in the statement. "Lily left her with me."

"That does not make her your child." Dumbledore said, equally dominant.

Snape paused a long time before responding. "I will not sacrifice her for the boy. You may allow her to be in danger, but I will not."

"I do what I must, Severus. We are in war." Dumbledore said, almost pained.

"I put my trust in the wrong person once, Albus. I will not do it again." Snape said.

Aria heard brisk footsteps turn and walk out. She knew that Snape was walking back up the hill toward the castle. She stayed deathly silent, hoping Dumbledore would soon follow him. Her legs ached and her back was on fire. However, she coaxed her muscles to stay perfectly still. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she finally heard Dumbledore turn and walk out of the boathouse. Waiting a few minutes to make sure it was safe, she finally emerged from her hiding position behind the boat. Checking to make sure she was alone, Aria began to walk up the path towards the castle.

As she walked, she became deeply engrossed in her thoughts. Why was Snape so insistent in his idea that Dumbledore would offer her up as a distraction to Voldemort? Aria couldn't believe that Dumbledore would actually do that to her. The thought still unsettled her. She knew she was meant to protect Harry, but was it to the point that his life was more important that hers? Mulling over the conversation gave her a headache. Aria shook her head and looked around, trying to clear her mind.

It was later in the day than she had expected. The students were roaming around the grounds. Aria spotted Draco Malfoy talking to Pansy Parkinson. He looked rather disinterested by whatever conversation they were having. Pansy saw Aria looking over at them. She smirked at Aria and snuggled in closer to Draco. Watching Aria's reaction, she moved a piece of his hair. Then, unexpectedly, she kissed him. It was unexpectedly deep and long. Aria's eyes got wide, and she quickly looked away. When she looked back up, Pansy was looking rather smugly at Aria. Draco had a bewildered expression on his face, and followed Pansy's gaze to Aria. Aria quickly turned and walked the rest of the way to the castle.

Aria ate dinner alone, as per usual. This particular night, she just picked at the food and left early. She got back to the Common Room before anyone else. Aria decided she was done avoiding it. She went and grabbed a book, then settled down in her favorite chair by the window. Aria became deeply involved in her reading, staying so even when students started coming in the room from dinner and socializing. She only looked up when she was interrupted by a voice.

"Decided to grace us with your presence, have you?" Draco said, flopping in the chair opposite her.

Aria snapped her book shut. "I've been busy. Homework."

Draco scoffed. "Yeah? I've got homework too, Everheart, yet I've still managed to show my face." He said with a sneer.

Aria was getting annoyed. "Well _maybe _that's why I've been getting better marks than you, Malfoy. You should try studying sometime. Might help you."

Draco looked angry. "How would you know about my study habits? You spend your life in the library!"

"I never see you in there, now do I?" Aria shot back.

"That would be because I have a social life, unlike you." Draco said snidely.

"Oh yeah, I bet, snogging Pansy Parkinson on the weekends. _That's _what you call a social life?" Aria said angrily.

"Don't pretend you don't wish it was you!" A voice shrieked. Aria turned to see Screech herself storming over. The entire Common Room was now watching "You bloody munter!"

Aria stood up to face her, highly offended. "Are you really that stupid? What in bloody hell would make you think I wish it was me?"

Pansy stood with hands on her hips. "I see the way you look at him. You've been avoiding him because you just can't stand that he's not interested." She said haughtily.

Aria laughed. "Are you completely mad? I'm avoiding him because I can't stand that he's not interested? Try I'm avoiding him because _I'm _not interested."

Pansy snorted, sounding exactly like a pig. "Please. You two are talking all the time. You sit together in class. You're obviously interested in him."

"Right. Which is why we argue every second we're together. Just increases the romance." Aria said sarcastically.

"You argue because he's not interested in you!" Pansy yelled.

"And who, exactly, would he be interested in then? You?" Aria asked, folding her arms.

"I was the one he was snogging today." Pansy said matter-of-factly.

"Only because you shoved your tongue down his throat." Aria shot back. "Are you really _that _delusional, that you think he actually likes you? You're obsessively clingy and obnoxiously loud. I'd rather listen to a mandrake scream than you."

"I am not! You're just jealous! And mandrake screams kill you, why would you rather listen to that? Are you dumb?" Pansy said.

Aria sighed, shaking her head. "That's exactly my point, you daft twat. And if he likes you so much, let him tell you himself." She looked at Draco, then back at Pansy. "Go on. If he's as interested in you as you said, he shouldn't have a problem saying it."

Pansy looked at Draco. "Well? Go on, tell her."

Draco stood up. "Tell her what, Pansy? There isn't anything to tell."

Her face became confused. "But Draco, we kissed."

"No. You kissed me. I did not enjoy it, nor do I want a repeat of it." Draco said.

Pansy looked crestfallen. "It's because of her, isn't it? She ruined everything!"

"Pansy, you're making a fool of yourself. She didn't ruin anything, there wasn't anything to ruin. Now, just leave." Draco said with force.

Pansy looked at him for a moment, and then ran to the washroom. A few of her friends went in to comfort her. The rest of the eavesdropping students slowly went back to talking, undoubtedly about what had just happened. Aria looked at Draco, unsure of what to do.

"Well. At least that's over with." Draco said, looking at her.

"Yes. Except now I'll have to protect everything I own." Aria said, only half joking.

Draco looked at her slyly. "So now that she's gone, I have a question."

"Yes?" Aria said.

"Were you jealous, honestly? I won't tell. It'll be our secret." Draco said, moving closer to her.

Aria rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up. What I said to was true. I'm not interested. End of story."

With that, Aria walked away to the girls' dormitory. She changed clothes before anyone else got in, and set to reading for a while. But before she settled down, she put a few protective enchantments on her bed and things. Just to be safe. Her dispute with Screech was sure to make life as a Slytherin even more loathsome.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter Five_

The next week passed slowly. Class was still dull. Draco, due to his latest egotistical blow, was currently not speaking to Aria. Pansy and friends were exchanging rather angry, jealous looks at her, not that Aria cared. The only seemingly interesting thing that happened was Aria receiving a note saying that Dumbledore needed to see her at 5'o'clock on Friday evening. She had no idea why, but she figured it would be an interesting meeting.

After classes on Friday, Aria rushed back to the Slytherin Common Room to change into her normal clothes. She prepared quickly, not knowing if Dumbledore would have them traveling or not. After she changed, she grabbed her wand and left the Common Room, ignoring all the other students. She walked quickly through the halls and to the entrance to Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate malt." Aria said to the large bird that hid the entrance.

It began to turn, revealing a staircase. Aria hopped on a stair, and stood as the staircase spiraled higher and higher. Finally it stopped, and Aria stepped off onto the platform in front of the office door. She rubbed her head, slightly dizzy from the spinning. As Aria raised her hand to knock on the door, it opened, revealing Dumbledore behind it.

"Ah, Aria, come in, come in. Right on time." Dumbledore said.

"Didn't want to be late to my first meeting as a student, Headmaster." Aria said with a smile.

Dumbledore smiled back. "You're doing quite well, I hear. Top marks in all of your classes."

"Well, I do have an advantage over the other students." Aria said.

Dumbledore nodded. "That you do. But tonight, we are not here to talk about your student life, Aria. We are here to talk about something far more serious." Dumbledore went and sat behind his desk.

Aria sat in a chair in front of the desk. "What is it, Professor?"

"We have a great task to perform tonight, Aria. It is an unpleasant one. It will challenge you, greatly." Dumbledore said.

Aria sighed inwardly, feeling her stomach sink. "What am I doing, exactly?"

"Tonight, we are traveling to Azkaban, to pay a visit to none other than Morfin Gaunt." Dumbledore said, sitting back.

"Who is that? And we're going to Azkaban? You're taking me to Azkaban?" Aria repeated, dumbfounded.

"He was imprisoned for the murder of the muggles Tom Riddle Sr., Mary Riddle, and Thomas Riddle." Dumbledore explained. "Morfin Gaunt is sister to Merope Gaunt, mother of Tom Riddle Jr."

Aria's eyes widened. "We're going to Azkaban to chat with Voldemort's uncle?" She asked incredulously. "Professor, shouldn't you take someone like Remus with you? Someone more… experienced?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I know that you are young, Aria, and this is a great responsibility for you. But you would be the most beneficial in this situation."

"Why?" Aria asked.

"Because you and Morfin have things in common. You both have been put in a life you do not deserve because of Voldemort's actions. And I believe that that similarity might prove helpful." Dumbledore said. He stood, and came round the desk. "Come, Aria. We must go."

Aria stood nervously, and walked over to Dumbledore. She had put her life on the line many times at his request, but never had she been given a task such as this. Aria's mind recalled the conversation she had overheard between Snape and Dumbledore. If Dumbledore truly only cared about Harry's safety, then he would lead her into danger for his sake. Aria looked up at Dumbledore. He had always taught her well, always led her in the right direction, never failed her. She decided that if she couldn't trust him, she could trust no one. Swallowing hard and closing her eyes, she took Dumbledore's arm, and they Disapparated.

Aria could feel and smell the cold, damp breeze before she opened her eyes. When she did, she saw the raging waves of the sea all around her. She was standing on a little parcel of land next to a towering triangular structure. Aria began to feel dead inside, emotionless, and quickly realized that there were Dementors flying around the island. They drained all the happiness and life out of her. It was no wonder the prisoners often went insane in Azkaban, having to live trapped inside of their dark minds. Aria shivered, pulling her jacket closer to her body. She followed Dumbledore towards the building, taking in its frightening aura. Aria wanted to leave, right then. Surely it was inhumane to keep humans under such conditions, horrible people or not. She quickly ran to keep up with Dumbledore, who was entering the prison.

The inside of the prison was just as dark and dismal as the outside. There was a person working a desk, which surprised Aria. Somehow she didn't expect real humans to be kept here, it was such an awful place. Aria ran a nervous hand through her hair. Dumbledore thanked the desk worker, and looked at Aria.

"This way." He said.

Dumbledore led her up many flights of stairs, past many cells. As they walked, their footsteps echoed down the empty hallways. The prisoners, in response to the sound, began screaming in a horrific, frightening way. They shouted obscene words and curses they couldn't possibly hope to perform. Dumbledore seemed unfazed by the noise. Aria was more traumatized by the second. She noticed, as they walked, a particular vault. Aria stopped to look at it.

"Bellatrix LeStrange." She said quietly.

Dumbledore, who had noticed her stopping, walked over and nodded. "Yes. A Death Eater."

Aria knew she was a Death Eater, of course. Bellatrix LeStrange was infamous, mostly for her cruelty. From Aria's understanding, she was one of the closest to Voldemort himself. She was also, awkwardly, Sirius's cousin. Bellatrix was known for being sadistic and dangerous. She had tortured two Aurors to insanity searching for Voldemort after he was destroyed, among countless other crimes. Hence why she was in Azkaban.

Just then, the woman herself came out of nowhere and hit the door with force, pressing her face into the small window. Aria jumped back, highly scared. Bellatrix stood back from the window, laughing, then hit the door again. Aria could hear her deranged cackle echo down the hallway as she and Dumbledore walked away from her cell.

A few minutes later, Dumbledore stopped. "Here we are." A man, presumably a worker at the prison, was standing by the cell with a key. Dumbledore turned to Aria. "Now, it is important that we do not fail, Aria."

"What exactly are we attempting to do, Professor?" Aria asked, shivering.

"We are here to recover a memory, Aria. A very important memory." Dumbledore said.

"And what memory is that?" Aria asked.

"It has to do with the murder of Voldemort's father and his family. Now, while we are in there, you must follow my instructions exactly as I say them. If I tell you to tell a certain story, you must tell it. If I say to recant your life, do so. If I leave you two alone to talk, you must remain calm." Dumbledore said.

"Professor, you're not really going to leave me in there alone with him, are you?" Aria asked, alarmed.

But Dumbledore had already turned to the man with the key, who was now carefully opening the cell door. Dumbledore slipped in quickly, and Aria went in behind him. The sound of the door closing behind them was menacing. Aria took a in a deep breath before looking at the man sitting in the corner. He had long, shaggy hair and long beard, both matted with dirt.

"Good evening, Morfin." Dumbledore said. "I'm Professor Dumbledore. You agreed to meet with me, so I could ask you questions."

"I am aware of what I agreed to!" The man said savagely. His beady, black eyes focused on Aria, though they seemed to point in opposite directions. "You did not mention you were bringing someone!"

Aria wanted nothing more than to shrink into the wall. The man smiled at her, revealing teeth missing from his gums. She shuddered, unsure of what to do. Dumbledore looked at her, then back at Morfin.

"I hope you don't mind. She too has had many experiences with Tom Riddle J-" Dumbledore said.

Morfin whipped his head to Dumbledore. "Don't say his name!" He howled, interrupting Dumbledore. "Don't even speak it! The traitor! The blasphemous betrayal!"

Aria stumbled back into the wall, startled by this sudden outbreak. Morfin sat, breathing heavily. It was obvious the years in Azkaban had taken their toll on him, mentally and physically. He sat on the ground, rocking slightly back and forth, and Aria guessed that he wouldn't be able to move even if he wanted to. He had obviously lost sanity long ago. In a way, Aria felt sorry for him. Even though he was related to Voldemort and most likely a vile human at his prime, it was disheartening to see someone so deteriorated.

Morfin turned his gaze to Aria, the eerie grin splitting his face. "Who are you, sssssweet?" His 's' was drawn out like the hiss of a snake.

Aria stepped forward, swallowing hard to calm her nerves. "My name is Aria. Aria Everheart."

Morfin nodded. "Aria Everheart." He said slowly, and Aria cringed at how her name sounded coming from his mouth. "You're not a mudblood, are you? It'd be a shame to see someone so pretty be sssssssssso dirty."

Aria decided it would be best to agree, though she was truly a halfblood. "Yes, I'm pureblood."

Morfin's grin grew wider. "Sit down then. You're welcome to my home." He looked at Dumbledore. "Leave usssss alone now. She can ask me the questions."

Aria turned to Dumbledore, who nodded to Morfin. He looked at her, gave her a reassuring wink, then tapped on the door. After he left, Aria gulped and looked back at Morfin.

"Sit!" He commanded.

Nodding, Aria sat Indian style on the floor across from Morfin, a safe distance away. She looked at the floor and ran her hand through her hair again, her nervous habit. After breathing deeply a few times, she looked up at him. Morfin was watching her with his small, disjointed eyes.

"Relax." He said, elongating the word. "We're alone now. Ask what you ssssssseek."

Aria nodded, and decided she should start a conversation. Maybe whatever Dumbledore needed would come up. "What's your name?"

"Morfin." He said slowly. "Morfin… Gaunt." Morfin spoke with many pauses, almost as if he was collecting his train of thought. His last name was perfect to describe his appearance. He was a very gaunt man.

Aria nodded. "That's a nice name. You're pureblood." She stated matter-of-factly, hoping she was right.

Morfin nodded vigorously. "No dirty muggle blood. None."

This seemed like something to go on. "There aren't a lot of true purebloods left in the magical world." Aria said. "Most are halfblood at best."

Morfin made an awful noise in his throat. "Disssssgusting. Traitorousssss. To defile the purity of magical blood with mud."

Aria paused, recalling what Dumbledore said in his office. "It is a shame. Wasn't your sister in love with a muggle?"

Morfin hit his head with his hand. "Do not speak of it!" He shouted. "It is betrayal!"

Aria paused. "Yes, it is. There is no doubt; she should have respected the pureblood line. Merope, wasn't that her name?"

Morfin made the horrible throat noise again. "Yessssss." He said.

Aria swallowed. "Why did she do it? Fall in love with something as worthless as a muggle?" Aria hated every word she spoke, but she knew it had to be done. She had to make him think she believed as he did.

Morfin's face became sinister looking. "She wasssssssss a blood traitor. She is as worthlesssssss as the muggle she loved."

"Who was that muggle, Morfin?" Aria asked. "What was his name?"

Morfin shook his head repeatedly. "No. No. No no no no."

"It was Tom Ri-"

"NO!" Morfin shouted, cutting her off. "DO NOT SPEAK IT."

Aria had jumped from his shouting. "Why do you hate his name so much?"

Morfin sneered. "It is a filthy name. A filthy, FILTHY, muggle name."

Aria nodded. She seemed to be getting closer to whatever it was she was looking for. "He didn't love her, did he? The filthy muggle."

"She had to poison him. She poisoned him to run away with her." Morfin said slowly, looking at the floor.

"So why did she stop?" Aria asked.

Morfin looked up at her. "She had hissssssss child." He whispered in an ominous way.

"Your nephew?" Aria asked.

"Yesssssssss." Morfin said, again sounding of a snake.

"Have you ever met him?" Aria asked, knowing she was approaching the right topic.

"Once." Morfin said, staring at her creepily.

"Do you remember it at all?" Aria asked.

"No." Morfin said quickly.

Aria changed her tactic. "What happened to Merope?"

"She died. While I was here the firssssssssst time." Morfin said.

"So what happened to the boy?" Aria asked him.

"He went to an orphanage. A _muggle _orphanage, where filth like him belongs." Morfin said with force.

"What happened to his muggle father, once Merope stopped poisoning him?" Aria asked.

"He went back to his _filthy _muggle family." Morfin said.

"He's dead now, the muggle. Isn't he?" Aria asked.

Morfin nodded, not saying anything.

"You killed him."

Morfin nodded again. "I killed him. I killed the muggle. And his muggle family. I murdered the lot of them."

Aria looked into his eyes, trying to read something off of him that would give her a clue as to what to say. Despite his ability to speak and hold a conversation, there was no denying the deranged nature of this man. He hated muggles. It wasn't improbable that he would murder a muggle family. Aria's question was why wouldn't Voldemort take the revenge himself? Why would he let Morfin do it? That thought gave her the words she needed to say.

"_You _murdered them." She repeated, with emphasis.

Morfin nodded. "Murdered them. Erasssssssssssed their filth."

"When did you murder them?" Aria asked.

"In the ssssssssssummer." Morfin said, and Aria could tell he was searching for more information of the time, but couldn't find it.

"Morfin, did you murder them while your nephew was visiting you?" Aria asked.

Morfin thought. "Yessssss. I think."

"What was he doing while you murdered them?" Aria asked.

"I…" Morfin trailed off. Aria could see he was lost in his mind. "I don't know."

Aria straightened up. "Morfin. Morfin, look at me." She waited until he did. "Did you murder the Riddle family?"

"Yessss." Morfin said, after a pause.

Aria didn't believe him. "Why did you wait so long?"

"What?" He asked, looking confused.

"They were down the street from you for years. Why did you wait so long to murder them?" Aria asked.

Morfin began to shake his head slowly. "I don't know."

Aria stood up and paced. "They were at your fingertips, Morfin. You wanted them dead. You wanted their filth erased from your world, didn't you?"

"I don't know, I don't know." He repeated.

"So why, Morfin? Why did you wait for years to murder them? Why did you wait until your nephew was visiting to murder them?" Aria continued to rapid fire questions.

Morfin began to rock back and forth, shaking his head faster. "I don't know, I don't know." He said with increased urgency.

"Why don't you know what your nephew was doing while you were murdering them? Why is it all unclear in your head? It's a memorable experience, Morfin, murdering the family you so loathed. So why can't you remember it?" She asked him, getting a little louder.

Morfin rocked back and forth, shaking his head furiously. "I don't know, I don't know!"

Aria knelt down in front of him. "Morfin, Morfin. Look at me. Come on, now, look at me."

Morfin slowly quieted and stopped moving. He looked at Aria, and she again searched his eyes.

"You didn't kill them, did you Morfin?" she asked. He didn't move, so she continued. "You didn't murder them. You only think you did."

Morfin shook his head. "I killed them."

"Morfin, listen to me. That boy, your nephew. He is a halfblood. He is nothing. He is filthy. He's tainted with muggle blood. You and I, we're different. We're pure. We have magical blood, and only magical blood." Aria said. "But that boy, that filth is walking outside, free, while you sit in here."

Morfin's face began to become angry. Aria knew she was getting somewhere.

"Morfin, you didn't murder that family. You know, deep in you, you didn't do it. And you need to let me help you, you need to tell me the truth Morfin. Because as long as you're in here, that halfblood walks free. As long as you say you murdered them, you let _filth _walk free. You don't want to do that, do you?" Aria asked.

Morfin shook his head and looked at her. "Help me. You understand."

Aria nodded. "I'll help you, Morfin. But you need to help me first. I need a way to prove that the filthy halfblood killed the muggles. I need you to remember that night, exactly as it was."

Morfin closed his eyes and Aria could see him concentrating.

"Good, Morfin, good. Now keep concentrating on it." Aria said, gripping her wand in hand. She placed the wand at his temple and watched as silver tendrils attached themselves to the tip of it. Morfin opened his eyes and Aria moved her wand.

After a few more minutes, Aria reached over and tapped the door. The man opened it and Aria slipped out. Dumbledore looked at her and she held her wand up, the tip still glowing silver. Dumbledore handed her a vial and she transferred the silver memory into it. After she capped it, she looked up at Dumbledore.

"Never again." She said. "Never, _ever, _again."


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Six_

Aria and Dumbledore quickly made their way out of Azkaban and across the grounds. When they reached the edge where the land met the sea, Aria grabbed Dumbledore's arm. With an echoing crack, the prison disappeared out of sight. A second later, Dumbledore's office came back into view. Aria sat down in the chair in front of his desk, slightly nauseated from the Dementors at Azkaban. Dumbledore held the vial containing the memory up to the light, examining it.

"Is that what you needed, Professor?" Aria asked.

Dumbledore looked at her. "There's only one way to find out."

Dumbledore crossed his office to a glass cabinet. He opened the door and pulled out his Pensive, throwing it to the middle of the room. It hovered there, emitting a soft, glowing light. Aria got up and went to it. Dumbledore held the vial up, unstoppered it, and slowly poured the contents into the Pensive. They looked at each other for a second, then slowly both dipped their heads in.

_Morfin Gaunt was sitting in a chair in a dingy old living room. Tom Riddle Jr. was sitting across from him. The room was old, the furniture decrepit. Morfin was drinking out of some kind of flask. His hand was adorned with a gaudy looking ring._

"_You look mighty like that muggle, you know." Morfin said, taking a swig from the flask._

"_Muggle?" Riddle asked, slightly alarmed. "What muggle?"_

"_This self pretentious muggle. He lives down the street, in his fancy-pants muggle mansion." Morfin said. _

"_Do you have something against him?" Riddle asked._

"_It's a blasphemous, shameful thing. My ignorant, blood-traitor sister. She fell in love with the muggle. Fed him a love potion, got married, had a kid. Course, then the potion wore off and he ran back to his rich muggle filth. Left her to die with the kid in some orphanage. It's shameful." Morfin said, and took a long drink._

_Riddle spoke in a very controlled way. "What was the muggle's name?"_

"_Tom Riddle. Son of Thomas and Mary Riddle. Real to-do muggles, too. The worst kind." Morfin said._

_Riddle's face became overtaken with rage. In a swift motion, he stood. Morfin stood as well, looking confused._

"_Hey, kid, whatch-"_

"_STUPEFY!" Riddle shouted, brandishing his wand._

_Morfin fell to the ground, stunned. He became groggy, only being able to see Riddle steal his wand and take off. Then he passed out._

Aria and Dumbledore retracted their heads from the Pensive. Dumbledore looked stunned, and slowly stumbled over to his stairs and sat down. Aria looked at him curiously.

"Professor?" She asked.

Dumbledore shook his head, indicating to be silent. Aria complied, her mind racing from the thoughts the memory had provoked. Voldemort had stolen Morfin Gaunts wand. He had stunned Morfin and stolen his wand. Surely he had gone and murdered his parents and grandparents. He had stolen Morfin's wand… but why? Of course, to frame him for the murders. Voldemort must have tampered with his memory in order to make Morfin think he did it. Aria looked back at Dumbledore, wondering what this could mean.

"Thank you, Aria. This memory is vital to me." Dumbledore said finally, looking up at her.

"What's it mean, Professor?" Aria asked.

"It means an innocent man needs justice." Dumbledore said. "It means Voldemort began killing far earlier than most expected."

"While he attended Hogwarts, sir?" Aria asked.

"I would believe so." Dumbledore said, and looked at the clock. "You had best head back to your House, Aria."

Aria nodded and walked toward the door, still thinking about the memory. She remembered something from the memory. She turned back to Dumbledore, who was staring into space.

"Professor?" she said.

"Yes?" Dumbledore asked.

"The ring Morfin was wearing in the memory. Was it a family heirloom?" She asked.

"I don't know. Why do you ask?" Dumbledore asked.

"It had a strange stone. Not the normal for a ring, not any I've seen. It was curious." Aria said.

Dumbledore looked back at the Pensive. "You always did observe that which others overlook. Goodnight, Aria."

"Night, Professor."

Aria let herself out of the office and down the stairs. She walked quickly to the Slytherin Common Room, mind still reeling from what had just happened. She spoke the password and entered the Common Room, which only had a few students left. Draco Malfoy just so happened to be one of them. He was sitting in the chair across from where Aria usually sat. Aria signed inwardly, not wanting to deal with his ego at the moment.

"Everheart." He said, looking up at her. "Where have you been?"

"Not anywhere you'd like to be." Aria answered truthfully.

Draco made a face. "In the library, I expect."

Aria decided to let him think that. "What's it to you?"

"I don't like waiting, Everheart. You could've sped it up a little bit, especially on a Friday night." Draco said, annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware I was being waited on." Aria said sarcastically. "You haven't spoken to me for a week, and I was hoping it was just going to stay like that."

Draco scoffed. "Please. Like I'd let you off that easily."

Aria sighed, sitting in the chair opposite him. "Malfoy, I'm tired. Whatever fun this is about to be, get on with it."

Draco sat back. "I'd like to make a wager with you."

"A wager? You want to make a bet? On what?" Aria asked.

"I wager that I can make equal or better marks than you on our next test." Draco said.

"What are the stakes?" Aria asked.

"If you win, I'll leave you alone." Draco said.

"For how long?" Aria asked.

"At least a month." Draco said.

Aria paused. "And if you win?"

Draco looked smug. "Then you have to go on a date with me."

"A date? No. No way." Aria said.

"That's the offer, Everheart. Take it or leave it."

Aria thought for a bit. Draco wasn't as bright as her, few of the students were. It would be difficult for him to get the same marks she did on a test. And the thought of him leaving her alone for a month was golden. But if he somehow managed to win, she'd have to go on a date with him. That would be horrible, not to mention dangerous. But the thought of a Draco-free month was too good to pass up.

"Deal." Aria said.

"Shake on it." Draco said.

They shook, and Aria stood. "I'm going to get some rest."

Without saying goodnight, as customary, Aria walked away and went to the girls' dormitory. She grabbed her sleeping clothes and went to the washroom for a minute. After she changed, Aria washed her face. Leaning on the sink, she stared into the mirror. Aria didn't look fourteen. She didn't feel fourteen. She felt like an adult, being forced to take on adult responsibilities and make adult decisions. Aria pressed her forehead to the mirror, sighed, then turned and grabbed her clothes and went back to her bed. She didn't fall asleep thinking about Draco Malfoy that night. She didn't fall asleep thinking about anything at all.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter Seven_

Things at Hogwarts were quiet for a while. Aria's classes were quiet. Umbridge was tightening the rules to a ridiculous extent; interviewing teachers during class, deciding who should stay and who should not. Aria witnessed a particularly painful-yet-amusing interview with Snape about his failure to claim the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position. She also watched Harry's ginger friend get smacked upside the head after Umbridge left. Aria stayed behind after the lesson, as she had been instructed in a note Snape left on her desk before class.

"Professor?" She asked.

"Miss Everheart, come into my office, please." Snape said.

Aria walked into the office and shut the door behind her. She settled into the black leather chair next to the table. Snape sat across from her with a cup of tea, gesturing her to the teapot in a suggestion to get her own. Aria nodded, got up, and went to get her own cup.

"It is my understanding that you and Dumbledore went traveling a week and a half ago." Snape said.

Aria nodded, fixing her tea. "Yes, we did."

"And where exactly did you go, might I ask?" Snape's voice was slow.

Aria sat back down with her tea, curling her legs underneath her. "Azkaban." She said, and took a sip.

Snape choked on his tea. "Azkaban!" He said, slightly angry.

Aria nodded. "Yes."

Snape slammed his cup down on the table, tea sloshing out. "What was he thinking? Taking you to _Azkaban, _of all places."

"Severus, please. I had a job to do." Aria said.

"And what would that be?" Snape said, his eyes black and unreadable.

"I had to speak to Morfin Gaunt." Aria said.

Snape closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Dumbledore had you speaking to the _uncle _of the Dark Lord?"

"Dumbledore needed a memory from him. He knew I could do it." Aria said, trying to explain.

"It does not matter if you can do it, Aria! You're too young to be so involved with something that's so dangerous!" Snape almost shouted, standing up.

"I have no choice but to be involved, Voldemort made it so!" Aria said angrily, standing as well. "And Dumbledore believes in me!"

"Dumbledore uses you!" Snape shot back.

"Why is it that because he thinks I'm capable of tasks far beyond the usual for my age, he's using me?" Aria furiously demanded. "At least he thinks I can do something on my own!"

"You do not need to be doing things on your own, you need to be protected." Snape said. "The Dark Lord-"

"I don't care what he'll do! I don't want to be protected, I want to help! This is my war too, now, Severus. Stop shielding me from it." Aria said.

Grabbing her bag, she quickly left the room, leaving Snape in a stunned rage. Aria had never walked out on him before, for anything. They had a very unusual relationship as Snape was never spectacular at playing a fatherly role; it wasn't that he didn't want to, Aria knew, as that he didn't know how. But now that she had entered Hogwarts, he was trying to overprotect her. Like it or not, Aria was a key point in this war; a secret weapon, so to speak. He had to let go of his want to keep her safe, it was unrealistic. She would never be safe until Voldemort was dead.

Aria had gotten so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized where she was. That was quickly remedied when she smacked straight into someone in the corridor and fell, books scattered everywhere. She looked up to see a familiar face- Neville Longbottom, he was in her classes. He looked slightly timid, picking himself up off the floor.

"I- I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." He said quietly, picking up his books.

"No, don't. It's my fault; I wasn't paying attention, like an idiot." Aria apologized, helping him gather the books he'd been carrying.

Neville looked at her with a puzzled expression, and Aria realized why. She, a Slytherin, had just been nice to him, a Gryffindor. It obviously wasn't a common experience. Aria gave him a small smile, deciding he needed some kindness. That's when she noticed another pair of feet standing next to them. Aria stood and came face to face with her brother, Harry Potter, himself. And he was staring at her.

"Are you okay, Neville?" He asked, glancing at Neville.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Neville said, mostly looking at the floor.

Harry turned his attention back to Aria. She didn't know what to say. "Sorry, again." She said finally.

Harry just stared at her with a strange expression. Aria looked at his face, which looked similar to hers. Unable to stop herself, she looked at his eyes. They were the exact same shade as hers. His eyes widened slowly, and Aria knew he saw it too. She snapped her head away, looking over at Neville.

"I'll just let you two get on your way then." She said, stepping around them.

"Wait." She heard Harry say. Slowly, she turned. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Aria nodded, keeping her gaze off his face. "Yeah, fine."

Without waiting for more conversation, Aria turned around and hurried to the Great Hall for dinner. Everyone had their accustomed spots, and Aria sat in her spot at the end of the table, alone. She helped herself to some food and reached in her bag to get something to read.

"Don't bother with the literature, Everheart. You have company."

Aria looked up to see Malfoy across from her, smug as ever. "Oh, splendid, just who I was absolutely _dying _to see." She said sarcastically.

"I knew you missed me." Draco said with a wink.

Aria rolled her eyes. "To what do I owe the honor of your company?"

"Better you than Parkinson." Draco said.

They both glanced toward the middle of the table, where Pansy Parkinson was glowering at them. Aria thought Pansy might be trying to be discrete, as she wasn't looking directly at them. However the glances over every ten seconds and the snarl adorning her face gave her away. Aria looked over toward the Gryffindor table to see Harry glancing over at her as well. She quickly turned her attention back to Draco.

"She really has it out for me now, doesn't she?" Aria asked, gesturing towards Pansy.

Draco shrugged. "She wants to be my object of interest. She feels that position was stolen from her. By you."

"Did she ever have that position in the first place?" Aria asked.

Draco gave her a look. "What do you think?"

Aria nodded. "Right. Only in her mind."

"Exactly. I actually overheard her talking about dueling you once." Draco said, looking amused.

Aria laughed. "Please, it would make my day."

"And why is that?" Draco asked, taking a bite of food.

"She wouldn't last two seconds against me." Aria said matter-of-factly.

"What makes you so sure?" Draco asked.

"Does she even _know _what a Stunning Spell is?" Aria asked, taking a bite.

"No, I wouldn't suppose. Why, do you?" Draco asked.

"Yes." Aria said shortly. "I know a lot of things about magic."

"Yeah, no kidding. You've almost knocked Granger out of her academic pedestal. Betting she doesn't like you for that." Draco said, turning to glance at the wavy haired girl by Harry. "But that's the problem with being a Mudblood."

Their conversation dissipated into mostly eating and small talk. They talked about the weather, awkwardly, and about random teachers and students at the school. They even walked back to the Common Room together. Aria had never spent this much time with Draco and not been annoyed; it was a rather monumental experience.

Aria went and changed into regular clothes, and brought some homework to do in her chair by the window. Draco, surprisingly, sat down in the chair opposite her with homework of his own. Aria looked at him, puzzled.

"Since when do you do you homework ahead of time?" Aria asked.

"Just because you're the smartest student here doesn't mean you're the only smart student here, Everheart." Draco said, not looking up from his essay.

"I wasn't implying that. But I don't think I've ever seen you actually do homework." Aria said.

Draco looked up. "What did you get on your last test, Everheart?"

"The stupid Defense Against the Dark Arts assessment? Outstanding, why?" Aria asked.

A smug grin formed on Draco's face. "D'you remember our bet, Everheart?"

Aria thought for a second. "No. No way. That wasn't even a real test."

Draco shook his head. "You agreed, Everheart. It was technically a test. You got an Outstanding on it; so did I."

"You're barking! That was barely even an assessment, a Cornish Pixie could've passed that!" Aria exclaimed.

"Then next time, you'd do well to specify rules when you make a bet." Draco said. "But for now, Everheart, you owe me a date."

Aria breathed heavily, her face angry. "Lovely. And where exactly are we going to go? A stroll around the grounds? A romantic evening in the Astronomy tower?" She asked sarcastically.

"Actually, we're going to Hogmeade village. First visit of the year is this Saturday." Draco said.

Aria glared at him. "You know, you make yourself seem almost bearable sometimes, and then you remind me why you're not."

Draco still had his smug smile. "This Saturday. Eleven 'o' clock. I'll meet you by the entrance to the castle."

Aria glared at him again, gathered up her homework, and went to the dormitory. All the students were in the Common Room, so she found peace doing her work on her bed. After she was done, she changed and climbed in. As usual, her mind was overridden with thoughts. She was going on a date with Draco Malfoy, the little swine. She should've known he'd trick her. And now she had a date with a Death Eater's son. It was a dangerous and annoying thing. Hopefully it would go smoothly, and that could be the end of it. Aria laughed to herself, wondering what Pansy Parkinson would do when she found out.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter Eight_

Aria awoke that Saturday morning, already in a bitter mood. She couldn't believe she had been tricked into going on a date with Malfoy. She showered and chose warm clothes to wear, knowing it was cold and there was more than likely snow on the ground. Aria couldn't fathom why the school decided to arrange the first trip to Hogsmeade in November. She also couldn't fathom why the only pair of gloves she had were fingerless. She sighed, slipping them in the pockets of her black wool coat. They would have to do.

Aria left the dormitory for breakfast as the other students woke, like usual. She walked down the halls to the Great Hall, wondering what exactly Malfoy had in store for her today. She hoped she wouldn't be subjected to hand-holding, or worse. She sat down in her usual spot at the end of the Slytherin table, and helped herself to some bacon and eggs while thinking about the day ahead. She watched as the other students filed in, waiting for Malfoy to show. But he wasn't there by the time she left the Great Hall.

Slowly, formidably, the day dragged on. Aria had decided to spend the hour before she met Malfoy in the library, where she found comfort and solace. Today, however, books did not calm her. She left feeling just as on edge as she had entered. Sighing, Aria made her way to the entrance of the castle, where Malfoy said he'd be waiting, putting on her gloves as she went.

"There you are, Everheart." Draco said, seeing her approach.

"Am I late?" Aria asked.

"By five minutes." Draco said.

"Pity." Aria said, edging sarcasm.

Draco was slightly awkward, not snide like usual. "This is for you." He said, and muttered a spell. A single flower bloomed from the tip of his wand, and he handed it to Aria.

Aria slowly took it. "Erm… thank you." She said uncertainly, twirling it between her fingers. "That's really… nice of you."

Draco nodded. "Well, come on. We better get going."

Aria nodded, and noticed Harry and his two friends standing near them. They were all glancing over at her and Draco, undoubtedly eavesdropping. Harry met Aria's gaze and they both quickly looked away. Aria turned and walked with Draco down the long path towards Hogsmeade. There was a layer of snow covering the ground, and the sky threatened to add to it. Draco walked beside her silently. Aria felt incredibly awkward, not knowing what to say. Finally she couldn't stand the silence.

"So, what are we going to do today?" She asked.

Draco looked over at her. "Where would you like to go?" He asked.

"I don't know. I've never been here." Aria said.

"Right, right." Draco said, looking around then back at her. "Well then, let me give you the grand tour. You'll get the privilege of having me as your guide."

Aria smiled, not being able to help it. There was the full-of-himself Draco she knew and loved to annoy. "I don't know if that's a privilege or a sentence, Malfoy."

"You're smiling, so I'd say privilege." Draco said. "Come on. We'll start with the Shrieking Shack and work our way in."

They walked to the left, to the outskirts of town. The path was mostly empty. Aria figured it was too cold for most students to want to come out this far. She was pretty cold herself. Draco led her farther out, to a wired fence with a warning sign.

"Here we are." He said, stopping.

"_This _is it?" Aria asked, surprised. It was just a ruddy old shack. She knew it was a shack, but she didn't think it was this uninteresting.

"Yeah, I know. It supposed to be the most haunted building in Britain." Draco said.

Aria knew the reason for that lie. "I have a hard time believing that."

"As do I." Draco said, turning away. "Shall we go to town?"

"Sure, why not?" Aria said.

They turned and started back into town, making small talk about the weather and classes. As they returned, Aria saw Harry and his friends walking the opposite way, towards a place called the Hog's Head. She shrugged and turned forward, dismissing it. They were probably just going to get warm.

Draco took her into Zonko's Joke Shop, which was a short lived visit. He seemed annoyed by all the baubles, though Aria found them amusing. He only went in because Aria asked, and made it clear he didn't want to be there. Aria explored the different odds and ends while Draco skulked behind her, refusing to crack a smile at even one.

Then they went to Honeydukes Sweet Shop. Draco mostly watched as Aria walked around, fascinated by the thousands of different sweets. She used her charm to get free samples, at which she saw Draco finally snicker. She left with pockets full of wrapped candy, all free of charge.

"How do you do that?" Draco asked, watching her select a candy to eat.

"Do what? Fit all this in my pocket? Undetectable Extension Charm." Aria said, offering him a sweet.

Draco took the candy then shook his head. "No, no. I mean, how did you get them to give you it? I've never seen them give out samples, let alone that many."

Aria smiled. "It's all in your attitude, Draco." She said. "You can't force someone to do what you want. You have to make them want to do it all on their own."

"Where did you learn to do that, though?" He asked her.

"You get inventive when you have a longing for things you can't afford." Aria said, shrugging. "What works, works."

It had begun to snow outside, and Aria started shivering. Her fingers were turning pink from the cold. She tried to shove them in her pockets, but the candy crowded her hands. Draco looked over and saw her struggling.

"Come on. Let's go to the Three Broomsticks. We'll get you warmed up." Draco said.

He led her down the street and into an old pub. They found a booth in the corner, and Draco ordered them two Butterbeers. Aria sat, looking around and rubbing her hands together.

"Here, let me help you." Draco said offering his hand.

Aria looked at it and then back at him. "I'm fine, thanks."

Draco pulled his hand back. "Your decision." He said shortly. He looked a little agitated by her refusal.

Aria decided to ask what she had been curious about all day. "So why did you coerce me on this date, exactly?"

Draco looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I don't exactly feel like your type." Aria said. "You said yourself I don't seem like a true Slytherin. But you are. So I don't understand why you wanted me."

Draco paused. "You're a challenge." He said finally.

"Oh, well, that's lovely. You'll only like me until I like you back." Aria said sarcastically, looking away.

"I didn't say that, Everheart." Draco said. "I said you're a challenge. That means you're difficult to get. You're complex. You're not falling all over yourself trying to impress me. Or anyone, for the matter."

"Well, obviously you're impressed." Aria said, slightly smug.

"And what makes you think that?" Draco asked.

"You're still spending so much time trying to get what you can't have." Aria said, sitting back.

"Don't flatter yourself, Everheart. I said you were difficult to get. Not impossible." Draco said.

A waitress came and set the Butterbeers down in front of them. Draco gave her the appropriate change, and looked back at Aria.

"Well go on, drink it. I didn't buy it just so you could let it sit there." Draco said, and took a sip of his own.

Aria eyed it, then gave it a try. It tasted sweet, and warmed her insides. "It's good." She said.

Draco barely smiled, and nodded. "So, Everheart. This is a date. I want to leave it having some better knowledge of you then I started with."

Aria set her mug down and licked her lips. "What do you want to know?"

"When's your birthday?" Draco asked.

Aria was surprised. "Erm, May 21st."

Draco nodded. "I'll have to remember that."

"Why? Gonna get me a present?" Aria asked jokingly.

"You never know, Everheart, you never know." Draco said, moving his eyebrows.

Aria cleared her throat. "Are you going home for Christmas?"

"I haven't decided yet. Mum wants me to." Draco said, sipping his drink.

"What about your dad?" Aria asked carefully. He didn't know she knew his father was a Death Eater.

Draco shrugged. "He's busy. He works with the Ministry. He's a very high ranking man." He said, voice tinged with pride.

Aria nodded, and took a sip of her drink. "He would be pretty busy then."

"What about you? Are you going home for Christmas?" Draco asked.

Aria shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Why not? Don't your parents want you home?" Draco asked.

"Erm… no." Aria said uncomfortably.

"Why not? Are they traveling for the holidays?" Draco pried further.

"No." Aria said. "I don't have any."

"What?" Draco asked, looking confused.

"I don't have any parents. They're dead." Aria said, staring at the table.

Draco sat back in his seat, silent. It was obvious by the look on his face that he didn't know what to say. Aria didn't either. They both finished their Butterbeers in silence, unsure of who should speak first.

"I think we'd better go." Aria said finally, looking at the window. "It's getting late."

They put on their coats and gloves and headed outside towards the castle. The awkward silence lingered between them. Aria shoved her hands into her pockets, feeling the candy rattle around. She looked over at Draco, who seemed to be staring at his feet. Finally they reached the castle. Aria looked over to see Draco had stopped.

"What is it?" She asked, turning to him.

"I… I'm sorry. For the questions about your parents. I didn't know." Draco said uncomfortably, staring at the snow.

Aria shook her head. "Don't. There's no way you could've known." She said.

"I wish I did." Draco said, looking up at her.

"Why?" Aria asked.

"I told you. I want to get to know you." Draco said.

"I don't understand why." Aria said, shaking her head.

"For someone so smart, you're really thick." Draco said. "Maybe this will help you."

Draco stepped closer to her, closing the space. He softly put his hand on her neck, rubbing his thumb across her skin. Aria was stunned by the sudden, uncharacteristic gentleness. Draco looked at her, then began to lean his head down, edging closer.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter Nine_

Aria braced herself, unsure of the situation. Draco was leaning in to kiss her. A million thoughts raced through her mind. Should she stop him? That was the logical thing to do. But for some reason her mind wouldn't relay the command to her body. Aria felt like the moment was, in a cliché expression, going in slow motion.

"Oh, come off it Ron!"

Draco pulled back quickly and Aria looked over to see a very annoyed Harry standing between his two friends. At the same time the trio noticed Draco and Aria and got awkward looks on their faces. Harry stared at Aria, and she looked down at the ground.

"Do you mind, Potter?" Draco spat at him. "Some of us would like some privacy."

"Yes, because that would be why you're in a public corridor." Harry said, breaking his gaze from Aria to glare at Draco.

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but Aria cut him off. "Come on, let's just go."

Unwillingly Draco walked away with Aria, both getting strange looks from Harry and his friends. They continued to the Great Hall, where they sat on opposite sides of the table to have dinner.

"So why do you hate Potter so much?" Aria asked him, helping herself to some food.

Draco made an annoyed sound. "Famous Harry Potter." He spat. "Arrogant. Full of himself. I don't know why everyone loved him."

"Loved?" Aria asked, giving him a look.

"Everyone thinks he and Dumbledore have gone off the deep end, what with their incessant yammering on about the return of You-Know-Who." He said, then took a bite of food.

"So you don't believe them?" Aria asked curiously.

Draco scoffed. "Why would I? There's no proof." He looked at her, then leaned a little closer. "My father says that the Minister thinks Dumbledore is trying to overthrow him."

Aria looked confused. "Why would Dumbledore want to do that?"

Draco chuckled. "It's amazing what you don't know, Everheart. Dumbledore has never liked the way the Ministry here was run. Father says he thinks it's too… discriminating. Bunch of rubbish, of course. I think the magical world should be a little more… exclusive than now."

"Why?" Aria asked.

"We let any old riff-raff who can wave a wand in these days. Mudbloods. Half-breeds. It's ridiculous." Draco said, stabbing his food.

Aria shrugged. "I honestly don't care."

Draco looked up at her. "Why not?"

"If they have the ability to learn magic, let them. I try not to get up in everyone else's business." Aria said.

Draco shook his head. "Sometimes, Everheart, I don't understand how you're a Slytherin."

"Not all Slytherin's have to be micromanaging pure-blood supremacists." Aria said, annoyed.

Draco looked annoyed as well. "It's not _micromanaging _to want to protect the purity of magical blood, Everheart."

"Why is it your place to choose who is worthy to perform magic?" Aria asked. "If you have the ability, why should be denied the opportunity?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "You sound like you've been given the mindset of Dumbledore himself."

"And you sound like a discriminating git, Malfoy." Aria said. "Excuse me for actually being accepting of people. Maybe you'd do well to try it sometime."

"There's a point, Everheart, where a person becomes too accepting." Draco said.

"And who told you that, your father? Learn to think for yourself, Malfoy." Aria shot back, then paused for a moment. "Though he is right, there are certain people you shouldn't accept." With that, Aria stood and began to walk away.

"Where are you going, Everheart?" Draco demanded angrily.

Aria turned to him. "I said there were certain people that shouldn't be accepted. You're one of them. Come find me when you can talk without sounding like a discriminatory twat."

Leaving Malfoy highly offended, Aria stormed off to the library, her safe haven. She got a role of parchment and a quill, deciding she needed to write a letter. Aria needed some kind of encouragement to stay in this school, especially after her argument with Malfoy. He drove her up the wall at times. She hated people who looked down on Muggle-Borns; after all, her mother was one. Aria needed to talk to someone who would understand.

_Remus,_

_I wish I had your patience. My time here at Hogwarts has been… well, less than satisfactory. I've been watching over my brother, of course, but it's difficult to be unable to get to know him. Classes here are dull at best. I'm not being taught anything I don't already know, and at times the slow pace becomes almost maddening. _

_I don't enjoy being a Slytherin, to put it nicely. The Slytherin's I've met are very condescending people, full of unkind opinions and words about Muggles and Muggle-Borns. One, in particular, has managed to get under my skin. Draco. I feel that you'll at least have an idea of who I'm talking about. _

_He keeps wanting to be near me, but I can't stand his discriminatory attitude. We constantly go from exchanging pleasantries to quarreling, and it can be exhausting. I know it isn't wise for me to befriend him- but he is pushing so hard for some kind of relationship that I almost find myself relenting at times. I know it's a bad idea, but it also seems intriguing at the same time. I don't know what to do._

_Severus and I have quarreled some. He does not want me as a student here. It's making him angry and harsh with me. I dislike it. I know we had to create distance when You-Know-Who returned, but he's gone from my mentor to nothing. It's upsetting. But what can I do to help it? I have to be here, it's my responsibility._

_I wish you were here, Remus. I need your guidance. I don't know how I'm going to live up to Dumbledore's expectations. _

_I have so much I can't write. I need to see you in person soon, though I know I can't come for Holiday. I need a break from the lie I'm living._

_-Aria_

Aria let the ink dry and rolled the parchment up. She checked the time, then quickly ran out to the Owlery. She attached her scroll to an owl's leg, and it flew into the night. Aria watched it for a while before heading back to the Common Room. She was always amazed by an owl's ability to find the receiver of a letter, no matter where he or she may be. The creatures fascinated her.

Aria ran back to the Common Room, the cold air making her shiver. She said the password and walked in. As she expected, most of the students were either settled and talking to friends or gone to bed. Aria went and got a book, hoping to do some reading. She curled up in the chair and began to read.

About an hour later, the Common Room had generally emptied out. All the students had finally gone off to bed, or wherever they were planning to go for the night. Aria, however, was still deeply involved in her reading when a voice disturbed her.

"Don't tell me you've been in the library all this time."

Aria slowly shut her book and looked up at Draco. "Why is it your business where I've been?"

"Well," Draco said, sitting across from her, "You kind of left the dinner part of our date midway."

"Huh. Imagine that." Aria said sarcastically. "If it wasn't obvious, Malfoy, my leaving was an indication that the date was officially over."

"No, no. That was very clear." Draco said, sitting back.

"Then why are you talking to me now?" Aria asked.

"Because that's not how our date should've ended." Draco said.

"What, you didn't like ending it with an argument and me storming out?" Aria asked sarcastically.

Draco sighed. "What happened in the Great Hall shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have quarreled with you."

"Why?" Aria asked. "We were talking about our opinions, which couldn't be more different. It's natural."

"We differ on everything; it shouldn't spark an argument like that." Draco said.

"We're just _too _different." Aria said resolutely.

Draco shook his head. "I wouldn't say that. I think we're just the right amount of different."

Aria narrowed her eyes, curious. "What do you mean?"

Draco looked uncomfortable. It was obvious he wasn't enjoying the particular topic of conversation. "We're different. We're difficult. We argue, we bicker. We're almost the same personalities, but our thoughts are completely opposite. We don't get along very often. But when we do, it's… it's worth the difficulty. You can't deny it, Everheart. You can pretend all you want, but you feel at least something for me."

Aria paused, thinking carefully. He was right, she couldn't deny it. "What's it matter if I do or not?"

Draco smiled slightly. "You do. I knew it."

Aria rolled her eyes. "I never said that, Malfoy."

"You don't have to, Everheart. I can tell." He said, then paused. "But I feel I made a mistake. I realize that you're not someone who can be rushed or pushed in any direction."

"You've got that right." Aria said, a bit smug.

Draco nodded. "So I've decided to go at this slowly. We'll be friends. We'll figure out how to make it work. And in the meantime, you'll find it harder and harder to keep pretending." He said with a sly grin.

"What makes you so sure I'm pretending, Malfoy?" Aria asked, annoyed.

"You're very good at pretending, Everheart. It took me until now to see it. But there have been signs." Draco said.

"Such as?" Aria asked.

"Where do I begin?" Draco said, thinking. "You accepted my wager, when you easily could have refused. When you lost, you held up your agreement, instead of refusing. You appeared to have fun on our date today, and it mattered to you that I enjoy myself as well. You're comfortable enough argue all you want with me, but you've never once asked me to leave. You don't socialize willingly with anyone here except me, on the occasion. You-"

"That's enough, I understand." Aria said, cutting him off.

"Are you sure? I'm positive I could find more examples." Draco said.

"Why does _any _of that matter?" Aria asked, knowing he was proving his point and she had no rebuttal.

"You tolerate me, and no one else. You said tonight that I'm an unacceptable person. But you'd be lying to me and yourself if you claimed to not have accepted me to some extent." Draco said.

Aria sighed. She saw the truth in his reasoning. "So what does it mean?"

Draco's smile widened slightly. "It means we start as friends. We attempt to argue less. And we go from there."

Aria nodded. "Fine. We'll see how this goes." She stood up. "But we'll start tomorrow. It's late."

Aria moved to go to the dormitory, but Draco stood and took her arm. She turned back, confused. He stepped closer to her, and they looked at each other for a moment. Draco slowly leaned down and gently kissed Aria's cheek. He straightened up slowly, and she stood stunned for a minute.

"Goodnight, Everheart." Draco said, a half-smile adorning his face.

"Goodnight." Aria said slowly.

They both retreated to their respective dormitories. Aria changed quickly into her sleep clothes and climbed in bed. Somehow, she could still feel warmth on her cheek where Draco kissed. Aria thought about the chance of their prospective friendship until sleep consumed her.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter Ten_

The weeks until Christmas holiday were stressful. Teachers began to pile on homework. Draco sought more of Aria's attention, when he wasn't on prefect duties or running around with the ridiculous 'Inquisitorial Squad' Umbridge had formed. She was driving the school to madness, what with her constantly creating new rules to make the teacher's and student's life generally more miserable. And with the increase in work load, and stress mounting in the Order, Aria found her life down-spiraling quickly. She was glad to have a moment to relax in the Common Room, when she had miraculously managed to complete all her classwork.

"Glad to see you've finally come up for air."

Aria looked up to see Draco sit across from her. He handed her a steaming cup of tea and a biscuit. Aria accepted them gratefully, devouring the biscuit and slowly savoring the tea.

"Where did you get this?" She asked after the biscuit was gone.

"Enjoy it, did you? I had Goyle nick it from the kitchens on the way back from the Squad. He steals food from there all the time." Draco said. "I thought you could use some food and warmth."

"Well, thank you." Aria said, the mug warming her hands. "That was very nice of you."

Draco smiled. "Never thought I'd hear you call me nice, Everheart."

Aria shrugged. "I've been working since I woke this morning. Guess I've gone soft."

"Either way, I'll take the compliment." Draco said.

"So you were with the Squad again?" Aria asked, sipping the tea.

Draco nodded. "Yeah. We've been keeping an eye on Potter."

Aria's interest sparked. "Potter? Why?"

"He and those weirdos he's always with have been acting suspiciously lately." Draco said. "Umbridge thinks they've formed some sort of club, so she's asked us to find out what he's up to."

Aria pulled her legs up underneath her. "Have you found anything?"

Draco shook his head. "Not yet. We're getting closer though. Potter never has learned to properly watch his back. You would think he'd be better at that."

Aria sipped her tea, distracted by this news. If Harry was up to something, he needed to be more careful. He was already on Umbridge's, and the Ministry's, bad side. Harry had to be wise about the decisions he made, and not cause any problems to arise. Aria wondered if there was any way she could let him know he was being watched. Maybe then he'd be a little more cautious about whatever club he decided to form.

"Are you still staying here over the Holiday?" Draco asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Aria nodded. "Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Well," Draco said, shifting in his seat, "I'm staying here too."

Aria was a tad bit surprised. "Really? Why? I would've thought mummy and daddy would've wanted you home."

Draco shrugged. "Father has work at the Ministry to keep him busy."

"And mummy?" Aria asked.

"She's not too keen on the idea, but it's my decision." Draco said matter-of-factly.

"Why would you want to stay here?" Aria asked.

Draco adopted his sly look. "I have business to attend to here."

"Such as?" Aria asked.

Just then, the Common Room door opened. Goyle and another boy walked in. Goyle was carrying as much food as he could fit into his arms, and the other boy looked annoyed by him.

"Malfoy. I need to speak with you." The boy said, and eyed Aria. "Privately."

Draco nodded and stood. "Alright, Blaise." He said, and turned to Aria. "If you'll excuse me, Everheart."

Draco, Goyle, and Blaise walked out of the Common Room door to talk about whatever it was. Aria gathered up her books and went off to bed, not wanting to wait around for Draco to return. She changed and washed her face, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. The holiday could not come soon enough.

The next morning, Aria woke to the lovely sensation of a migraine pulsating through her skull. She washed and dressed more sluggishly than her usual, but still managed to arrive to breakfast early. She sat in her normal spot, rubbing her temples and trying to block out the sound of the students talking. The headache made her nauseous, and she neglected to get any food. Aria sipped on juice and hoped that the pain would soon go away.

"Are you alright, Everheart?" Draco said as he sat across from her. "You look sick."

Aria sighed, not looking up from the table. "Do I? I thought I looked just ravishing today, actually."

Draco leaned down, trying to catch her eye. "I'm being serious, what is it?"

Aria moved her eyes up to look at him without moving her head. "Migraine. Don't worry about it."

Draco surveyed her for a minute. "Here," He said, grabbing her a piece of toast, "This might help."

Aria slowly sat up, and took the toast. She nibbled on it while drinking her juice, and slowly her stomach began to settle. Her head was still pounding, but it seemed to have lessened a bit. Aria looked at Draco, grateful.

"Feel better?" Draco asked, eating the bacon he helped himself to.

"A little bit." Aria said, reaching for another piece of toast. "That's the second time you've helped me feel better. Thank you."

Draco shrugged. "I don't want you to feel bad." He said simply.

They made minimal small talk for the rest of breakfast, not saying much on account of the headache. Draco walked her to her lessons, asking periodically if she felt any better. By the end of the day, her headache had almost disappeared. Unfortunately, their last lesson was with Umbridge. Aria felt her migraine might be replaced with a headache of a different nature.

Umbridge had them copy lines from the book, with no talking as per usual. Aria truly felt bad for the students here. They would never know how to defend themselves with a teacher like Umbridge. Aria knew she was privileged having the immense knowledge base she had. It came in handy at the most unexpected times.

After the lesson, Draco waited for Aria so they could go to dinner. Aria walked out with him, but as she looked over her shoulder she saw Harry by himself. She recalled the conversation with Draco last night, and thought. She knew she wasn't supposed to intervene in Harry's life. But he needed to be warned, and the moment was too good to pass up.

"Hey, wait here for a second; I forgot something in the classroom." Aria said as she and Draco turned the corner.

"Okay." Draco said impatiently.

Aria turned and walked back down the corridor towards the class. Harry was just walking out, unaccompanied by anyone. It was the first time Aria had seen him walking alone. Taking in a deep breath, she reminded herself to just warn him. She looked around to make sure no one was within hearing distance, and that they were far enough away from Umbridge's room as to not be overheard.

"Potter." Aria said with force.

Harry turned and looked at her oddly. "What?"

"I need to talk to you." Aria said, trying not to lose her nerve.

"Okay?" Harry said slowly, walking over to her.

"You need to be careful, Potter." Aria said.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, confused.

"Look. I know you and your friends are doing some kind of club, okay?" Aria said.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "How do you-"

"It isn't important how I know, Potter. What's important is that Umbridge knows." Aria said quietly.

Harry's eyes widened, and he stepped at little closer. "She… she does? How?"

"Her little Inquisitorial Squad is watching you, with the help of Filch no doubt." Aria said. "So whatever you're doing, be careful with it. I hate her as much as anyone else, but it isn't a good idea to cross her. Not with her proximity to Fudge, and his current dislike of you."

Harry stood, stunned. "I… don't know what to say. Er… Thank you, for the warning."

Aria shook her head. "Don't mention it. To anyone. Please."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

Aria looked him in the eye one more time, and turned to walk away. She knew she had meddled where she wasn't supposed to, but hopefully it would help Harry keep out of trouble, which, after all, was what she was here for.

"Wait a second." Harry said.

Aria turned. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name." Harry said, walking to her.

Aria swallowed and paused. "Aria." She finally said. "Everheart."

Harry nodded. "Well… thank you, Aria."

Aria nodded and they both walked away. It was almost painful giving Harry her fake last name. She wanted to just tell him the real one and let the truth come out, but of course she couldn't do that. Aria felt her headache creeping back, and she walked back to where Draco was standing.

"What took you?" Draco asked, looking slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my pen." Aria said, rubbing her temple.

Draco looked up at her head. "Headache back?"

Aria nodded. "Unfortunately."

"Come on," Draco said, "Let's get you something to eat."

Later that night, Aria sat in her chair in the Common Room. Her headache was still raging, and Draco had gone to the kitchens to nick Aria some tea. She, in the meantime, was replaying the conversation she and Harry had that afternoon. Aria was glad she warned him, it was the right thing to do. Whatever Harry was up to, he needed to keep in a secret. Like Aria was doing. Of course, Harry probably wasn't as practiced as Aria was. Keeping secrets for a lifetime makes one rather good at living the lie perfectly.

"Here you are." Draco said, handing her the mug. "I hope this helps your head."

Aria smiled at him and took the mug. She sipped it and felt the warmth spread through her body. "Thanks."

Draco nodded and sat down. "No problem."

Aria sipped her tea and talked quietly with Draco for a few minutes. They were bonding on a much better level than they had before. They argued less these days, though when they did the arguments were still as heated as always. Aria was unsure of how she felt about her growing friendship with Draco. He was dangerous, of course, and she knew that. But he was also intriguing, and Aria couldn't seem to cut him out of her life. What was worrying her was that now she found herself not wanting him to leave her alone. On the contrary, she was beginning to enjoy his company. And that couldn't end well.

They talked longer than expected, and minutes became hours. They were still talking long past the time when all the other students had gone to sleep. However, their conversation was interrupted by the opening of the Common Room door. Aria looked over and to her surprise saw Snape walking in. She immediately stood, knowing he would be angry about her talking to Malfoy. Draco stood too, feeling Aria's alarm. Snape, however, seemed minimally distracted by Draco's presence.

"Miss Everheart, I apologize for the disturbance at this late hour, but there seems to be an emergency." Snape said. "I must ask that you come with me."

Aria saw something in his eyes that worried her. "Alright, Professor."

Aria walked with Snape out of the room, looking back once at Draco. He looked confused, disappointed, and almost worried. Aria turned her head back and followed Snape, who was walking quickly out of the door and down the corridor. Aria sped up and looked at him.

"Severus, what's the emergency?" Aria asked.

Snape stopped and looked around. "The Order members have been on duty, guarding the prophecy at the Ministry, you know that."

Aria nodded. "Yes, I'm aware. What's happened?"

Snape looked more uncomfortable than usual. "One of the members was attacked tonight."

Aria's eyes widened. "Who is it?" She asked, feeling fear creep into her stomach.

"Arthur Weasley."


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter Eleven_

"What?" Aria asked, her voice rising.

"Shh." Snape said, looking around. "Keep your voice low. We must hurry, Aria. You're going to Grimmauld Place."

"And where are you going?" Aria asked as they began to walk toward the castle doors.

"The headmaster needs me elsewhere." Snape said shortly.

"Where?" Aria asked.

"Never mind it. What you're doing is far more dangerous." Snape said as they walked through the doors.

"What exactly am I doing?" Aria asked.

Snape looked around. "Lupin will explain. Go. Quickly."

Snape turned quickly and walked back through the doors. He paused, as if to say something, but began walking again a moment later. Aria sighed, looking up at the castle. Biting her lip and turning away, Aria took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and Disapparated.

When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of a familiar house. She looked around to make sure no muggles were present, then walked up the steps. Aria opened the door to reveal a long hallway. The paper was peeling, the carpet was thin, and the chandelier hanging was dimmed from the dust clinging to it. The portrait Aria so loathed was thankfully sleeping, sparing her from the yelling and cursing that normally greeted her.

Aria walked down the hallway to a narrow staircase at the end. She knew the Order would be in the kitchen downstairs, and she was eager to join them. Aria heard voices as she hurried down the stairs and paused outside of the door, listening in.

"It's too dangerous, Remus, to be left in the hands of a young girl." Said the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"She's been trained, Kingsley, she's as talented as anyone else in this Order." Remus said.

"Yes, but is she as mature as everyone else?" Kingsley asked.

"For God's sake, Kingsley, now is not the time for questions." Aria heard the annoyed voice of Sirius say.

"Dumbledore has given her as much responsibility as he has anyone else, and she has performed far beyond expectations." Remus said.

"But this, on top of the task she already has? Are you sure that's wise?" Kingsley asked.

Aria was tired of hearing herself be talked about. Kingsley always doubted her because of her age, which Aria understood. But there was no time for doubt now. She opened the door and walked into the kitchen, everyone's attention turned towards her. She saw Sirius's face light up dramatically. Aria hoped she would get to spend some time with him, as they got so few chances to see each other.

"And what kind of task am I meant to perform?" Aria asked, walking over to them.

"Aria. I see Dumbledore sent you." Remus said, giving her a smile.

"Severus, actually. The question is, why did he send me?" Aria asked.

"Well, I'm assuming you know about Arthur." Remus said.

Aria nodded. "Which is why I'm wondering why we're all sitting leisurely around the kitchen, chatting over drinks."

Remus shook his head. "Arthur is going to be alright, they took him to St. Mungo's."

Aria nodded slowly. "Then why am I here?"

"Arthur was on protection detail tonight, of something very important. Dumbledore has instructed you and me to finish his shift, Aria." Remus said, standing up. "Now, I understand this is a difficult task-"

"I can do it." Aria said quickly. "It'll be fine."

Remus looked uncertain. "Are you sure, Aria? This is of vital importance. I want you to be sure you can perform this task completely. No matter what might happen."

Aria nodded. "I can do it, Remus. And the longer we sit here debating, the longer whatever it is we're protecting remains unguarded."

Remus sighed and nodded, still looking uncertain. "You're right. We should go."

Aria saw Remus and Sirius exchange a look as they turned to walk up the stairs. She knew they were both worried about the undoubtedly dangerous situation she was about to be put in. But Aria was beginning to feel in her element. She grew up around danger, around putting herself into it for the sake of the greater good. It was strange, but Aria almost liked being in these situations. It was better than Hogwarts, to say the least. When there was danger threatening, everything became more real. The ones she loved, the ones she lost, the purpose she lived her life for, what was at stake. Providing she got out of the dangerous situation unscathed, it refreshed her perspective on her life.

Remus and Sirius, however, did not feel the same way. They were always afraid Aria would be put in a situation that was too dangerous, with too much loss. Sirius, especially, found it difficult to view Aria as a member of the Order, rather than a child that needed protecting. But it was obvious to anyone who knew Aria that, despite her age, she was no child. Her life had not allowed her a childhood.

"Aria." Sirius said from behind her.

"Sirius," Remus said, giving him a look. "We must go."

Sirius looked crestfallen. He reached out to Aria and pulled her into a hug. "Be safe." He said softly to her.

Aria pulled back and nodded. "I will."

Aria turned and joined Remus by the door. Without saying goodbye, Remus and Aria left the house, leaving Sirius standing alone in the entry hallway. They walked down the stairs and into the street, the cold air seeping into Aria's jacket. She pulled it tighter, walking briskly to keep up with Remus.

"Where are we going?" Aria asked.

"Somewhere safe to Apparate." Remus said, glancing at her.

"And then to the Ministry?" Aria asked.

Remus nodded. "The Department of Mysteries, yes."

"How exactly are we going to get in there?" Aria asked. "Shouldn't the Ministry have some kind of security?"

Remus chuckled. "Supposedly. I think you'll find it's not as hard as one would think to get around their… precautions."

Aria furrowed her eyebrows. "What does that mean?"

Remus turned into an alley and stopped walking. "Aria, in here."

Aria followed him in, looking around with disdain. "Charming place you found, Remus, really."

Remus chuckled again, and held out his arm. "Come, Aria. We must hurry."

Without question, Aria took his arm. The alley around her vanished, and she felt the familiar pull of her body in many different directions. When her surroundings cleared, Aria found herself in the Ministry Atrium. She slowly spun in place, staring in awe at everything at once. It was made of black brick, with many fireplaces for those who traveled via the Floo Network. A large marble statue served as the centerpiece, with large flags of the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, gently waving above.

"Wow." Aria said slowly. "This is… quite impressive."

Remus nodded. "Yes it is. Stay focused, Aria."

Aria nodded, and Remus led her to the lift. He pressed the button that would lead them to the Department of Mysteries and stood back. Aria was itching with questions, but something compelled her to stay silent during the ride down. Something felt ominous, like it was all too easy to get in here. She had no idea how Remus had just Apparated in with no problems whatsoever. But that was a question better saved for a later time. The sense of danger in Aria grew, and she tensed as the lift came to a stop.

The doors opened loudly, echoing down the dark, empty corridor. Remus lit the tip of his wand and motioned for Aria to follow him. She lit up her wand and carefully walked behind him, watching out for any lurking danger. Aria was on edge. She could feel that someone, or something, was in here with them. And she was waiting for it to show itself.

"Aria, you must be very careful." Remus said, stopping before a door at the end of the corridor. "We are not supposed to know what lies behind this door. You must tell no one of what you see here tonight."

Aria nodded. "I know."

Remus turned and slowly opened the door. In reality, it was just a soft creak as the door swung open, but in the silence it seemed to echo for ages. A soft light emitted from the room Remus and Aria were walking into. Remus led her through many rooms, each more unbelievable and somewhat frightening than the last. Finally he stopped in front of a door.

"This is our destination." Remus said, resting his hand on the doorknob. "Aria, it is vital that while you are in here you keep your guard up. What attacked Arthur may very well still be in here. And do not touch _anything._"

Aria nodded. "I won't. I'll be careful."

Remus nodded. "I know."

Aria paused. "Remus? What exactly attacked Arthur?"

"Voldemort's snake, Nagini." Remus said.

He turned back toward the door and opened it. It, unlike all the other doors, opened silently. The room was tinged with a blue glow. Huge shelves filled the room, each one lined with rows of foggy glass balls. Aria gazed up and down the rows, examining them all.

"The Hall of Prophecy." Remus said, coming up beside her.

"These are prophecies?" Aria asked.

Remus nodded. "Yes. They're filed according to subject. Now keep an eye out, Aria."

Aria nodded and they split off in different directions. Aria began walking towards the right, looking down each row of prophecies as she passed them. Once in a while she would look at the name tags the prophecies were about. For the most part she didn't recognize any of the names. But after about fifteen minutes of walking, Aria stopped, looking at one prophecy, puzzled.

"Remus?" She called out. "Remus, why does this have Harry's name on it?"

Aria waited for his reply, but Remus's voice was not the response she heard. Aria heard a peculiar sound, not one a human would make. She turned around slowly, ready to attack if necessary, but there was nothing there.

"Remus?" Aria called out nervously. She turned around and walked out to the middle aisle of shelves. "Remus." She yelled out again.

Aria heard the sound again and whirled around. Before her was a huge snake, at least twelve feet long, and almost as thick around as Aria herself.

"Nagini." Aria whispered.

The snake reared up, flicking its tongue out and hissing at Aria. Aria backed up, holding her wand out in front of her.

"Remus!" She yelled, fear tingeing her voice. "Help!"

Nagini tensed up, watching Aria carefully. Aria backed up further, into one of the shelves. Aria heard the running steps of Remus, but they were still too far away. The snake paused, listening as well.

"Aria!" Remus called out, but his voice was distant.

Nagini tensed, and Aria looked it straight in the eye. She barely had time to shield herself with her arm before Nagini sprang forward, its fangs slashing the skin of her upper arm.

"REMUS!" Aria screamed as the room blacked out, and she fell.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter Twelve_

Aria awoke to a searing pain in her upper left arm. She moaned in pain, reaching over to discover the source of the burning. Her arm felt clunky and thick to her touch. She leaned her head back and felt it touch something soft. Startled, Aria's eyes flew open and she looked around to see where she was. She was greeted with the familiar look of her room at Grimmauld Place.

"Finally, she wakes."

Aria looked over to see Sirius sitting in the corner. "Not where I apparently fell asleep, either." She said.

"It was more falling unconscious than falling asleep, but yes, that is the basic idea." Sirius said, folding his hands.

Aria rubbed her temples, which were throbbing. "And how exactly did I fall unconscious?"

"You were in the Department of Mysteries with Remus. You were attacked." Sirius said.

Aria nodded. "Ah, yes. I remember. Giant, blood-sucking snake."

"Not quite blood-sucking." Sirius said with a small smile.

Aria sat back against the pillows. "I'm assuming that would be how I obtained this lovely battle scar?" She asked, gesturing to her bandaged arm.

Sirius nodded. "Yes. None of the poison got in you, but it'll be a bad scar."

Aria sighed. "Can I just come out of one fight unscathed?" She said, disappointment seeping into her voice.

"It's difficult for that to happen, don't worry about it." Sirius said.

"You seem to do it just fine." Aria said.

Sirius gave her a look, then came to sit by her. "Aria, you can't expect perfection from yourself. You perform magic and tasks far beyond your age. Your ability is more than enough to ask for."

Aria looked at him. "It's not good enough."

"What makes you think that?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not about to be the weakest link in the Order because I can't keep from getting hurt and need everyone else to watch over me." Aria said.

"That's not true at all, Aria. You are not the weakest link. In my opinion, you're one of the stronger links." Sirius said.

"How?" Aria asked, looking over at him.

"You give everything you are into anything you do. Any assignment, any task, you put forth an admirable amount of effort. You're talented far beyond your years, you're wise, you're very intelligent and quick witted. I don't see any way you could possibly be the weakest link." Sirius said. Aria looked down, and Sirius reached over and took her hand. "Your mother and father would be exceedingly proud."

Aria looked up at him again. "They would? How do you know?"

Sirius nodded. "Yes. I know because of how proud I am of you."

"You are?" Aria asked.

"Of course." Sirius said.

Aria reached over to Sirius, and they sat hugging for a while. Sirius was always the person she trusted the most to talk to. He always understood how she was feeling and helped Aria with whatever she was worried over. It was helpful, because Aria tended to worry a lot. Then again, she had a lot to worry about.

After a time Aria sat back, careful with her arm. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked.

"What do I do now? Go back to school and try to explain the gaping wound? Stay here until term resumes after break?" She suggested hopefully.

Sirius looked uncomfortable. "Well, actually…"

Aria sighed. "Harry's coming here for break, isn't he." It was more a statement than a question.

Sirius nodded. "Yes, he and his friends. Tomorrow, actually. Which means-"

"It means I have to get the hell out before he sees me here. I know the drill, Sirius." Aria said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

Sirius reached over and grabbed her arm. "Aria, don't say it like that, please. You know how much I wish you could stay here. It's just… difficult. We have to be careful, you understand that."

Aria sighed. "I understand."

"I am sorry, Aria." Sirius said.

Aria paused, then stood, gently yanking her arm from Sirius. "I need to get ready to leave."

Sirius swallowed hard and nodded, standing. "Of course. I'll, uh… I'll leave you to it then."

Aria watched as he walked out the door. She knew the guilt he felt over her having to leave, but Aria couldn't help the way she acted sometimes. She was the one who expended the effort, not Harry. She was the one who faced countless Death Eaters her whole life, not Harry. But Harry got to be a part of the family while Aria was outcasted. As much as she tried not to, Aria couldn't help but to resent him for it. She faced the same pain he did. Why should she be made to face it alone?

Aria slowly and painfully got dressed. She kept a few of her things hidden far away, just in case she was ever caught here. While changing, Aria noticed someone had laid out things for her to change the bandage. Clumsily, she unwrapped the wad of gauze and tape surrounding her arm. Aria was surprised to see the size and deepness of the puncture. She thought there would just be two holes from the fangs, but apparently they had slid and torn her arm further. Aria was unsettled to discover that when she unwrapped the bandage, the wound slowly began to bleed again. She shuddered, applied the healing concoction that she guessed Molly had left for her, and wrapped her arm back up. This was going to be interesting to explain at school.

As she was finishing getting ready, there was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Aria called out.

"It's time." Sirius said, opening the door.

Aria nodded, turning to him. "I'm ready."

They walked down the stairs, to the main foyer. Remus and Tonks were chatting about something. Aria looked over and saw Severus step out of the shadows, where he had been standing unnoticeably.

"My escort back to hell, I assume?" Aria asked with a sly smile.

"It would appear." Severus said, in a way only Aria could understand as humorous.

Aria turned to Remus. "I'm sorry about whatever happened."

"Nonsense." Remus said, giving her a hug. "You acted brilliantly."

Aria turned to Sirius. "When will I see you again?"

"As soon as possible. I can never get enough of that face of yours." Sirius said, breaking his glare at Snape.

Aria hugged him, then turned to Snape. "I guess we'd best be off."

Aria gave Tonks a quick hug, and then she and Severus walked outside. After checking the streets, Aria took his arm and they Disapparated. Aria saw millions of shapes and colors pass by before she squeezed her eyes shut.

A moment later she felt solid ground rush up underneath her feet. Aria took in a deep breath and opened her eyes. The familiar sight of Hogwarts castle greeted her, the sky around it cold and gray. Snow was lightly falling, adding to the thick layer already covering the ground. Aria looked over at Snape, who stared unbrokenly at the school. With a sigh, Aria began to walk towards it. Her arm throbbed, and she remembered that she would need a cover story should anyone ask about it. Aria kept her mind busy with deciding on a tale to tell.

As Aria and Snape walked through the doors towards the Great Hall, the sound of talking became increasingly loud. Aria realized that it was breakfast, and today was the last day of class before winter break.

"You won't be attending lessons today." Snape said, as though he read her mind. "Dumbledore wants you to see Madame Pomfrey, and then rest today."

Aria nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Right. Well. Goodbye then, Aria." Snape said with a curt nod, and then walked into the Great Hall.

Aria paused and looked in the Great Hall. She surveyed the Slytherin table, then saw Draco. He was sitting with his back to her, talking to Blaise Zabini. As she watched, Blaise gestured towards her. Draco turned and met Aria's gaze. Aria looked down, embarrassed to be caught staring, and quickly hurried away.

In the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey slowly removed the bandages from around her arm. The wound was still open, and as the bandages were removed it began to bleed a little. Madame Pomfrey's eyes widened just the tiniest bit before she began to bustle around.

"You don't get very many snake bites around here, I'm happy to say." She said, gathering up different medicines. "But this one looks a right nasty. I can fix you up, o'course. You're lucky none of the venom got to you, or we'd be tellin' a different story entirely."

Aria just nodded appropriately as Madame Pomfrey rattled on about different snake related injuries and applied different medicines to her arm. She occasionally drew in a sharp breath as one of the many medicines produced a stinging sensation. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Madame Pomfrey proclaimed that she had done all she could do, and wrapped Aria's wound back up.

Aria left the Hospital Wing, heading back to the Slytherin dormitories. She couldn't bring herself to care that she hadn't eaten since last night, because exhaustion was overwhelming her hunger. She slowly made her way to the dormitories, and crawled in bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas.

Aria woke around nine that evening. Most everyone had left after lessons that day. Aria went and took a shower, following Madame Pomfrey's instructions to care for her arm. She dried her hair, letting it remain wavy, and dressed warmly. Aria put her clothes in her trunk, grabbed her wand and a book, and made her way down to the Common Room. It was mostly empty, with only one or two student loitering around. Aria curled up in her favorite chair and began to read.

About an hour and a half later, the Common Room had cleared out of all but Aria. The fire was now just a few small flames and embers. Aria was startled out of her concentration when the Common Room door opened. She looked up to see Draco walk in. He was alone, no doubt coming off Prefect duties, and he looked just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

"Everheart. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Reading, Malfoy. That's generally what I do when I'm in the Common Room." Aria said. "You should know, you've mocked me for it a hundred times."

Draco looked uncharacteristically embarrassed. "I just meant… I didn't know… You were gone."

Aria nodded. "Yeah, I know. I had an… emergency."

"Is everything alright?" Draco asked, coming to sit down across from her. "Are you… alright?"

Aria nodded. "Everything's fine. I am too, for the most part."

Draco looked skeptical. "For the most part?" He asked.

"I got a little scratched up, but it's fine." Aria said.

Draco sat back, looking relieved. "Good. I was…" He trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

"Worried?" Aria filled in, giving him a sly look.

"Concerned." Draco corrected looking embarrassed.

"Why?" Aria asked.

"I dunno." Draco said, looking uncomfortable. "I was just concerned that something bad might've happened to you."

"Why would that concern you?" Aria asked.

"I don't want anything bad to happen to you." Draco said, beginning to sound annoyed.

"But why?" Aria asked, pushing the question further.

Draco shook his head. "You know, I've tried to explain why. I've tried rather hard to make you see why I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. But you just don't seem to get it, Everheart. No matter how many ways I show you, it just doesn't seem to stick in that big head of yours. And frankly, there's only one way I can think of left to show you." He said.

"Oh really? And what, may I ask, is that?" Aria asked.

Without a word Draco stood up. He grabbed Aria's hand and pulled her up, then wrapped his arm around her to pull her close. His other hand went to her cheek, and he stroked it gently with his thumb. Aria opened her mouth to speak, but Draco cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. Unknowingly Aria found herself kissing him back, moving her fingers up through his hair.

They kissed for a few more minutes before finally pulling away from each other. Draco held Aria close to him, and his eyes surveyed every inch of Aria's face- her eyes, her mouth, her skin. A small smile broke over Draco's face.

"That, Everheart, is what I'm trying to show you."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I just want to apologize for the SUPER LONG delay in this chapter. I'm a senior, so I keep getting distracted with college applications, and some family issues as well.

Anyways, I'm truly sorry for the amount of time it took me to post this chapter. I'm hopefully going to update more often in the future.

And I have a promo video for this story in the works, to make up for it. :)

That is all :D Sorry, again!


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